The rising shadow
by windwingxs
Summary: Chapter 12 up! When peace returns to the world, many feel overly threatened by the power of MegaMan and Bass. To ease the peoples fears, new robots are created. The most powerful of all may hide in the shadows however. PG13 for some blood later on.
1. Dreaming of freedom

Hello readers. This is my first 'Fan-character' fiction, and I'm really looking forward to what you people think of it. I do not own MegaMan. It belongs to Capcom. Now be good readers and review my story.

() = Author comments or clarification.

The year is 20XX A.D. The ninth battle against the nefarious Dr. Wily had ended with MegaMan and Bass's victory. Once more, MegaMan returned to his home, while Bass and ProtoMan set out to parts unknown. Wily, infuriated by Bass's betrayal, set to work on his most powerful robot yet (CAUGH-Zero-CAUGH). Dr. Light began work on his own, but for more scientific purposes (We should all know this is X). Because of MegaMan's power, several nations decided to create robots of their own to even out the balance of power.

In this new age of peace, information was the most powerful weapon. Sensing this, the nations of England, Japan, and the United States formed an alliance to create a new form of robot. Unlike MegaMan, this new robot would not have to rely on brute force to attack. Months passed as the robot was designed, built, and programmed. In Japan, about the time when Cherry Blossoms were beginning to bloom, the project was finally completed...

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**SYSTEM STARTUP—12.00.00 20XX AD**

**POWER—100%**

**STEALTH—100%**

**R.ARM—100% -- DRAW SYSTEMS GREEN.**

**L.ARM—100% -- DRAW SYSTEMS GREEN.**

**CORE—100%**

**LEGS—100%**

**BOOST—100%**

**S.BUSTER—100%**

**BLADES—100% -- DISABLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.**

**PROCESSOR—100%**

**SYSTEM STATUS: ALL GREEN.**

**ACTIVATING ARMOR...**

**ARMOR—100%**

**PERSONALITY FILE LOADED.**

**ETHICS MODULE BOOTING... COMPLETE.**

**OPTIC SENSORS ONLINE.**

**AUDIO SENSORS ONLINE.**

'**TOUCH' SENSORS ONLINE.**

**SONAR SYSTEM ONLINE.**

**PULSE FEEDBACK NORMAL.**

**UNIT DESIGNATION: SAU-1**

**UNIT NAME: [Please click here to enter name.]**

**------**

The technician overseeing the startup blinked. "What the... Hey boss, what should we name this thing?"

"I don't know. What do I look like, a Dad?"

"Well, the computer won't finish start-up until we name it."

"Oh great. Look for a book and read every name you can find out loud."

Pulling out a Manga, the technician began reading. Before long, a heated debate was underway between all of the techies over the name. Unnoticed by anyone, the name filled itself out. One of the techies accidentally pushed the enter key. The word was burnt into his mind, finishing the start sequence.

He opened his eyes. His black pupils were soon overtaken by red irises, making him look almost human.

'Start up successful,' He thought, 'and I'm functioning at normal standards. Armor is online and fully powered. Location is unknown. Since this is startup number one, I assume that I'm in a testing bay. Movement is restricted, but the restraints are being released. I'm free.'

He stood. The sound of releases went unnoticed by everyone except the manager, who looked on as the new robot rose up.

The robots chest armor was silver, causing it to reflect the lighting in the chamber. His upper arms and legs were a dark green, which from afar could be mistaken as black. His lower arms and legs were the same silver color as his chest armor, but his hands and feet became the green-black of the rest of his body. His helmet had traditional circular 'ears'. In the helmet's forehead was a gold diamond, followed by a raised strip of metal. On either side of the gem resided a set of silver V-shaped spikes that extended behind his helmet. Attached to his lower arms was a set of blades. These blades reached above his head, looking almost like towers attached to his shoulders. The gold gem flashed as he was disconnected from the monitoring equipment.

"Guys. It's awake."

"What? Who entered a name?"

"Who cares. It's functioning. That's all we need to know."

The robot looked around. 'Technical staff identified. Current objectives: gather information.' He walked up to the window separating them and punched the glass, shattering it. Most of the people working screamed as he pulled himself into the operations bay. Opening his mouth for the first time, he spoke. "I require information."

The tone of voice he used was even. There was not even a hint of emotion. The sound of his voice was downright evil however, causing more than one of the techies to freak out and run away. The few who remained sat in silence until the manager spoke. "What information?"

"Objectives. Our location. My purpose."

"That I can answer. Your location is five miles North-East of Sendai, Japan. Your purpose is to protect humanity. Your current objective is to undergo testing of your abilities."

"Understood. Where is the testing facility?"

"This way. What is your name?"

"Issen."

------

A month passed. Issen proved to be the very weapon that they had been trying to create. A stealthy machine capable of almost anything. As testing came to a close, Issen was shut down and stored for transport to America. The transport arrived quietly at an Air Force base known to most as 'Area 51'. He was unloaded and brought to an underground bunker for his second activation. As if to punctuate the occasion, the desert had a thunderstorm rolling in. A very unusual occurrence for the area.

"Are we ready?" An elderly general puffed his cigar form the command center.

"Yes sir." The Colonel in charge of Issen's activation answered back smartly, trying to give a good impression.

"Good. Any chance this thunderstorm will adversely affect Issen's activation?"

The Colonel sighed. "We don't know. He is a big hunk of metal, and metal normally conducts electricity. We do have safeguards however, so it should be fine."

"That 'big hunk of metal' cost Uncle Sam a pretty penny. Make sure it works."

"Yes sir. Everything will go smoothly."

As if God wanted to make him a liar, an electrical line outside the bunker was struck by lightning. A surge in the power being supplied to Issen caused a premature startup. It also erased most of his directives files, causing him to forget all military doctrine. All of this happened within a matter of seconds, leaving the Colonel and his staff gaping in awe.

"STATUS REPORT!" The general bellowed. Someone brought up Issen's read-outs on the main screen.

"Issen has suffered a partial memory loss. Several key files are missing from his system, but he's still coming online as we speak!"

"His military files are completely corrupted! He won't accept the order to shut down!"

"All systems are coming online! All body functions are green! Trying a manual shutdown!"

The Colonel ground his teeth. "What the heck is going on?!"

"Activating restraints! Manual shutdown unsuccessful!"

**EMERGENCY ACTIVATION. POWER GRID ALMOST TO OVERLOAD. DISCONNECTION COMPLETE.**

'Where am I?' Issen though. 'Who are these people? Why are they trying to hold me back? Why are they trying to control me? What the heck is going on?!?'

**BLADES UNLOCKED.**

"Issen, I order you to shut-down!"

'An order? What's an order? Why do these people look so afraid of me? Do I accept orders? No. I won't be controlled by these people. I don't like this. My name means 'a battle', and that's just what I'll give them.'

"Dear god..." The general's cigar dropped from his mouth as Issen ripped free from the restraints. His blades swung free, slicing several computer in half as they came to his hands. Fear overwhelmed all logic, causing the general to panic. "Kill it! Kill it now!"

------

Outside the bunker, a red and gray robot was charging his buster. ProtoMan smirked as he blasted away the bunkers door.

"Far to easy. Whatever they're experimenting on here is powerful. I can detect it fro, miles away, so Wily must have picked it up by now."

Several robotic guards rushed out, only to be destroyed by ProtoMan's buster. As he entered the complex, he could have sworn he heard screaming...

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Well, this is the first chapter. Please review! I'll try to update again soon, but I have school starting in a few days. SCHOOL IS EVIL!! Go read Megatokyo and eat some chocolate.


	2. The escape

Small authors note. For those of you who don't know, Sniper Joe is the enemy that carries a shield, grenades, and a buster in MegaMan 8 and 9 (AKA MegaMan and Bass). Since they're sort of military in nature, one would assume that the military has a lot on hand and uses them as cannon fodder. Also, anything in bold is Issen's data log. I'll try and keep that to a minimum. I only own Issen. MegaMan belongs to Capcom.

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Issen slashed another Sniper Joe in half, making his way closer to the door. More and more of the green robots seemed to be pouring in, each determined to destroy Issen. Many had scored hits on him, draining his energy to almost critical levels. Another Sniper Joe tried to attack him from behind, but Issen dropped to one knee and destroyed it with his hand-busters. Something else threw a computer at him, which was sliced in half before impact. The gorilla like robot that had tossed the computer at Issen bellowed and grabbed another, but Issen rushed it. Before it could even lift the computer, Issen's blades had made several slashes through it.

"Someone alert the Ride Armor team!!" Finally, some of the staff had gotten enough of their brains together to come up with a plan. One of the human guards looked down and reached for his radio, but a pair of dark green and silver boots distracted him.

"What the?! HE--!" Issen's hand wrapped around the guard's throat. In under a second he was out cold.

**POWER DRAW SYSTEM TEST COMPLETE. ADDING ENERGY TO ARMOR. NOTE: CAN ONLY DRAW LIMITED AMOUTS FROM HUMANS BECAUSE OF ETHICS MODULE.**

Issen smirked as his energy meter went up by a tiny bit. He began charging his busters as he returned his attention to the Sniper Joe's that were gathering around him. Just as his busters reached a full charge, he shunted it into his boost system.

'Here goes nothing...' Issen felt a rush of energy course through his systems. Using the added energy, Issen jumped against a wall and clung to it for a few seconds before starting to slide down. Realizing that he was descending, Issen kicked off the wall and flew over the gathering of Sniper Joes below him. He landed on the far side of the lab, near the very entrance he was trying to reach. He grinned as he dashed out the doorway. "Freedom."

Unfortunately for Issen, a Ride Armor was waiting outside. Its fist smashed down on him, leaving Issen in an imprint of himself. He tried to get up, but the ride armor took him into its hand and began crushing him.

**WARNING! ARMOR ENERGY AT CRITICAL LEVELS! WARNING!**

"As if I didn't already know that..." Issen ground his teeth as he felt several armor plates crack. The human guiding the Ride Armor grinned.

"Hah! Got ya now Issen! Say goodnight!"

The armor's grip tightened even further, and Issen's armor began to give...

------

ProtoMan heard the sound of concrete being crushed from down the hall. The last Sniper Joe in his path was giving him trouble, but his charged buster put an end to it. Knowing that more would arrive soon, he quickly hurried on. He stopped at a corner and listened for enemies. He heard a human gloating over his success.

"Great, somebody already got their hands on the energy source. Guess I'll just have to stop him."

His buster fully charged again, ProtoMan stepped into the open and created a hole in the Ride Armor. The startled pilot struggled with the controls as it began to fall. Its hand opened, releasing Issen.

**SYSTEMS CRITICAL. SHUTING DOWN... REBOOT IN T-20 HOURS.**

The pilot of the armor jumped out to inspect the damage. Noticing a giant hole in the armor's gut, his face became one of extreme anger."My precious Ride Armor!! Who the heck fired that shot?!"

ProtoMan smirked. "I did. If you don't like it, why don't you come over here and do something about it?"

The pilot took a good look at ProtoMan before answering. "Oh... Crap. Umm... I'll just be going now..." He edged away slowly, and then broke into a full out run.

"Coward." ProtoMan suddenly noticed that the power signature he had been monitoring was extremely faint now. And extremely close as well. He jogged over to where Issen was napping. "Well-well, what do we have here?"

ProtoMan kicked him softly to make sure he was out. After waiting for a few seconds, ProtoMan made his decision.

"Dr. Cossack isn't going to be happy about this. Ah, but what do I care? Time to head back." ProtoMan hefted Issen onto his shoulder and teleported out of the bunker. Just after he left, several Ride Armors came pounding around the corner.

"General, it looks like we're too late. Issen and ProtoMan have escaped, and Wilson's RA is down."

"Find it! Find it now you idiots! If anyone outside our governments learns about it, the media will have an even bigger field day than when King attacked the Robotics Museum! You have three days to get Issen's location!"

"Yes sir! I'll order the deployment of every tactical team available!"

The general closed the link. "Our benefactor will NOT be happy about this..."

------

Issen slowly opened his eyes. It was dark, but his eyes easily adapted to the lack of light.

**SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC COMPLETE.**

**ENERGY – 60%**

**ARMOR – 100%**

**WEAPON SYSTEMS – 100%**

**STEALTH SYSTEMS – 100%**

His energy levels were not at maximum, but Issen knew it would suffice for the time being. He also noticed that his armor had been repaired. 'Where am I? Who repaired me? I require information again.'

It was snowing. His internal clock told him that only 18 of the 20 hours had passed. Someone had helped him. As he rose to his feet, a note fell off of his chest. "What the..." Issen kneeled and picked up the piece of paper. He read it in the hopes of gather information.

_Issen, be careful. Dr. Wily and the governments that made you are trying to capture you. There's a good chance that when you wake up they'll be nearby. You'll find a poncho in a tree nearby that should protect you from the elements. It gets pretty cold in Russia so be careful, as the cold could damage your systems. Also, there's a Codec program on a disk inside the poncho. If you need to contact me, my frequency is 128.21 on your Codec._

_--ProtoMan, AKA Blues._

_PS: You have Dr. Cossack to thank for the repairs. Trust him, Dr. Light, MegaMan and Roll. Be suspicious of everyone else._

True to ProtoMan's words, the poncho and disk were only a few feet away. After uploading the Codec program, he decided to try on the poncho. Unfortunately, his blades and helmet spikes wouldn't allow him to wear it.

"Great. Plan B, deactivate armor."

Issen's blades folded up and merged with his arms, while the rest of his armor disappeared, leaving only the green-black suit underneath. His helmet disappeared entirely however, leaving a mess of red hair. This allowed him to wear the poncho now, but his defenses were severely weakened.

"Now what should I do?" Issen looked at his surrounding. According to his sensors, nothing was in the immediate area, but a group of robots were approaching from the south. "I could sneak past them, but who knows what's behind them? No, I'm better off going west."

With a set plan, Issen turned west and began his trek through the snow covered wastes. Slowly, a thought crossed his mind.

'I have no objectives other than escaping. After that, what do I do?'

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Issen is free, but how long will he remain so? Why is Dr. Wily after Issen and where is our wandering hero going? I might answer these questions if you review! Chocolate for all!

(Jounetsu Setsuna, the Japanese intro for RockMan X- Command Mission, plays as Windwingxs rides off on his make-believe horse. He is followed by an angry looking Issen, who is banging two coconut halves together.)


	3. Minichapter

In an effort to explain some of Issen's abilities, I have created this little mini-chapter. To avoid any claims of rule-breaking, I have added in a slight story element to it. As I say, "Bending the rules is sometimes okay, but breaking them is never a good idea." Capcom owns MegaMan. I own Issen.

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Robot was last detected in Northern Russia. Seek and destroy. Its abilities are as follows.

Armor form 1: Combat- Issen's normal armor. Extremly dangerous in this form.

Armor form 2: Stealth- His armor disappears completely and loses all of its protective qualities. His helmet also disappears, while his blades merely fold up. They remain folded until he returns to combat armor, causing him to rely on his buster in this form. Also serves as a repair mode.

Attack style 1: Blades: Issen has twin blades attached to his arms that swing down to his hands for combat. These blades are around five and a half feet, giving Issen an advantage in hand-to-hand combat. The blades can be folded up for easier movement when sneaking around in both armor modes.

Attack style 2: Busters: Issen has his buster built into his right and left palms instead of having a full buster arm. His charge shots take less time than most, but they are weaker than most. He has excellent aim however, which means most of his shots impact the enemy. Issen's normal buster shot can be used like a stun gun for knocking out humans.

Specialized abilities--

Blade shield: Issen's blades absorb energy attacks. This can be used to either heal damage or copy the attack. The only problem is that, like King's shield, Issen's blades can become overwhelmed.

This increases all movement capabilities and powers for a limited time. This must be charged, and takes far longer than a single charged shot to do so. Boost also allows for 'wall sliding'.

Power Draw- Issen can consume energy from any source if he has physical contact with it. While this includes a humans' bio-electrical energy, he is programmed to only disable humans instead of killing them. He can, however, kill most robots with this ability.

Cloak- Issen is equipped with a cloaking device that can be used for a limited time. While Issen CAN attack with his cloak enabled, it causes his time to decrease even faster. However, if he uses the 'Power Draw' ability, it extends his time instead of healing him.

--END REPORT ON ISSEN

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"So this is the thing we're supposed to be hunting?"

It was cold. It was so cold that most of the humans were staying inside of the Mobile Command Vehicle. The Major, however, wouldn't back away from the chilling blizzard Mother Russia sent at him. "Yes. The Russians don't know we're here yet, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Yes sir. Anything I can get you while I'm out here sir?"

"No, but do me a favor and tell the boys inside to dispatch the drone team immediately and keep a look out for the Russian 'bot that's supposed to be running around these parts. I think Dr. Cossack named it 'SnowMan'. Sounds like something I made as a kid if you ask me."

The soldier beside him chuckled. "Yeah. I'll go deliver the news. What should our teams do if we come into contact with it?"

"Kill it. What else would we do, serve it tea?"

"No sir. For us, it's kill it and grill it."

"Good man. Now get to work."

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See? Like I said, a mini-chapter. Thanks for reading and eat more chocolate!


	4. The burning

Here we go again! Thanks for the reviews. I only own Issen, my fan character. MegaMan belongs to Capcom, while the invisible horse and coconuts routine from the last chapter belongs to whoever made Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Chocolate should belong to everyone.

Review response to: Yamiangie.

I don't really know if they do have Ride Armors in 20XX or not. I figure that I've set this story late enough in the series that I can start using the 'small' things from the X series. (Timeline wise, Light and Wily have finished X and Zero's bodies, and now their just working on coding. Heck, X and Zero might make a cameo if I'm nice... )

Issen ran through the forest, trying to evade the drones that searched for him overhead. Several times he had been forced to use his cloak to hide himself, and thus his stealth system was low on energy. Deciding to let them pass overhead, Issen hid himself in a crevice nearby and covered himself in snow.

'Shutting down all unnecessary systems. Shunting power to recharge cloaking. Body temp is within 2 degrees of snow. Now I just have to wait for these drones to leave.'

An hour passed. The drones eventually gave up their search and moved on. With nothing to fear, Issen shrugged off the snow and began running again. According to his sonar, a village was not far away.

'I should be able to find shelter for the night. It's almost midnight as it is... The temperature is getting lower by the second. I'd better hurry.'

Issen charged both of his busters and shunted the power to his boost system. His abilities now increased, Issen began dashing through the frozen forest. The boost effect lasted him to the village, shutting down within a quarter of a mile. Switching to his heat sensors, the village seemed to be at rest. Just about everyone was in a sleeping position, indicating that it was that much safer to approach. As he reached the outskirts of the town, Issen allowed himself to calm down. Running like a scared rabbit wasn't in his nature, and the village seemed to calm him. He searched around for a hotel, but all he could find was a building labeled 'Sergeivilch's tavern and Inn'. The dubious establishment was a little rundown, but something was better than nothing. As he opened the door, an overwhelming odor of vodka overcame his senses.

"Hey sonny, what kin I do for you at this horrible hour?" The man spoke in Russian, but Issen's programming allowed him to understand and speak almost any language on the planet.

"I need a room."

Once again, his voice alone freaked out the tavern's manager. "You don't have to go and make threats! Jeez, I'll give you a room. It'll cost ya though. Fifty dollars will do. (I have no idea what the Russians call their currency.)" As the manager held out his hand to accept the money, he noticed that Issen had an ice blue streak below each eye that extended to his jaw. 'What kind of freak is this guy?'

"Sorry, but I don't have any money. And I wasn't threatening you. This is just my normal voice."

"Oh. Well then forget it! I'm poor enough as it is, so I don't need any freeloaders like you hanging around." The manager turned away, returning to whatever work he had been doing. He also muttered something under his breath, which was clearly audible to Issen's robotic ears. "Stupid fools, always coming in at the middle of the night and crying about their problems. Screw 'em all, I say."

"Would you care to repeat that?" Issen glared daggers into the managers back.

"I said that you can go the hell, ya stupid--!?" The man found a black glove around his throat.

"I don't like being insulted. You made me angry."

Issen used his Power Draw ability to knock the man out. It would be at least a half-day before he woke up, but that didn't satisfy Issen's anger. Tossing him aside and blowing up the racks of Vodka behind the bar did. His energy level went up slightly from draining the Manager, so Issen decided that it would be a good time to rest. 'Sleep' found Issen quickly.

Issen awoke to the sounds of screams the next morning. The tavern around him was in flames, causing him to jump up, grab the sleeping manager, and dash out before the building caved in. Once outside, Issen came under fire from several Sniper Joes.

"Not you people again..." Issen jumped over the hail of energy that was sent at him. Before they could fire again, Issen had run behind a building and set the manager down. Three other buildings in the village were on fire, and some of their occupants trapped inside. 'New objective: Save humans and destroy opposition.'

Charging both of his busters, Issen rolled out of his hiding spot and blasted two of the Sniper Joes. As the others re-adjusted their aim, Issen went back into hiding and charged again. Using his boost ability, Issen wall jumped to the top of the building he was hiding behind. He dashed across the roof and jumped into the nearest burning house's second story. Inside, two little girls were pounding on their door, begging for their parents to save them. As Issen came crashing through the window, the turned around and screamed at him.

"Hey, I'm here to save you so shut up already!" They complied and Issen grabbed them by the waist, hauling them out the window just as the room started to collapse. Dropping from the second story would have broken a human's legs, but Issen simply absorbed the shock and set the two girls on their feet. Before they could say anything, Issen used his remaining boost to wall jump to the window again. Before he reached it however, the second floor collapsed onto the first, and the weight crushed the entire house. Issen barely escaped to a nearby roof. After checking for life signs around the house, Issen spied a set of adults outside the burning wreckage.

'Good. Their parents got out.' Issen turned around and ran towards the next house. As he leapt over an alley between houses, a volley of energy fire caught him in the side and sent him rolling onto the next roof.

**WARNING! ENERGY AT 50%! PROCEDE WITH CAUTION.**

"Great." Issen looked at the rips in his body with distain. "Somebody's gonna pay." Pushing this thought aside, Issen got up and continued his quest to rescue the trapped humans. As he approached the second house, he got to ground level and kicked in the door. Smoke clouded his vision instantly, but he used his sonar to guide himself through the burning building. After passing through several rooms he found a single bedroom being blocked by a fallen beam. He tossed it aside with ease, freeing the man who lived inside. Issen tore off the door and grabbed the man. Carrying him like luggage, he ran out of the house as its structure failed.

"Two down. One to go."

Several Sniper Joes opened fire on Issen after he set the man down. He jumped over the energy blasts and into an alleyway. Once more, Issen charged and activated his Boost function. Jumping on the nearest roof, he spied the final house and started making his way to it. Just before he got to it however, another robot jumped out carrying two adults. Issen checked the building for other life-signs, and found a single teenager in the upper floor. He also noticed that the house was going to fall apart VERY soon. And to make matters worse, the room teen was in didn't have a window.

"Here goes nothing!" Issen used his entire boost to jump through the wall. Finding the female teen had been knocked out, he quickly took off his poncho and wrapped it around her. Just as he finished, the roof started to cave in. Issen covered the girl with his own body, protecting her from harm. The roof came down, and everything went black...

SnowMan was making his way back to the house when the roof began to collapse. The parents of the teen cried out in anguish as the roof hit the floor of the second story, causing the first to collapse as well.

"I... I failed..." The Russian robot looked on with rage in his face. He had been created to save lives, yet he had failed in his duty. Those who had caused this would pay... They would pay for causing hurt to his people. Before he could attack the nearby Sniper Joes however, something stirred inside the collapsed build. "What?!"

**SYSTEM REBOOT COMPLETE. ENERGY – 39%.**

'I'm alive?' Issen quickly ran a system diagnostic and found everything was still running. The girl in his arms was uninjured, but the flames around them were getting hotter. 'I'd better move, or she won't live for long.'

As he stood, he activated his armor and unfurled his blades. Against the flaming background, it seemed as if a demon had risen from the flames. The teen's mother screamed in fear, while her father looked on in amazement. SnowMan stood in disbelief as Issen walked out of the blazing mess, girl in arms. He set her down at her mother's side before turning to SnowMan and the Sniper Joes.

"I take it your not with them?" SnowMan raised an eyebrow as Issen's cheek marks changed from Ice blue to fire red.

"No. They came here after me, so stay out of this."

Issen isn't happy me thinks. Maybe it's because of the whole Monty Python gag... Oh well. He gets to beat up his first boss in the next chapter, so stay tuned! Oh, and chocolate for those who review! Look in your refrigerator or pantry. You're bound to find some unless your parents are stingy. (Or you yourself are stingy and didn't buy any the last time you went to the store. )


	5. Oh my god, he KO'ed Kenny!

I own NOTHING! Well, except for Issen. He's cool, and better yet, he's mine. Capcom owns MegaMan, ProtoMan, Bass and Roll, along with every other character in the MegaMan series. I'm not sure if SnowMan was ever in the games however. Oh yeah, and screw the people who changed it so my little hyphen deviders no longer show up. The borders will now be represented by I's.

AN about the stripes on Issen's face- they change color depending on the closest nearby 'element'. The stripes show the element of his attacks. Example: if Issen had used a charged buster shot when he had blue stripes, it would have been an Ice type buster. He doesn't know about this feature though, mainly because it wasn't originally in his systems...

IIIIIIIIIIII

SnowMan had seen the fires from miles away. Dr. Cossack had alerted him to the presence of the American robots in the vicinity of the town, but he had no idea that they would attack it. Knowing that he wouldn't arrive in time to put out the fires, the Yeti robot bounded through the forests to save whoever he could. By the time he arrived at the town, SnowMan found that only one of the four houses set ablaze was still standing.

'Oh crap, it's going to cave in soon!'

He dashed in through the back door and made his way to the master bedroom. Its sleeping occupants hadn't even awakened from their slumber, and were starting to suffocate from the smoke. Knowing he had precious little time, he grabbed both of them and leapt out the closest window. The adults he held in his arms were both awake by now, and began screaming like scared children.

"It's okay! I'm here to save you." SnowMan set them down gently in the snow, trying to calm them down. "Are you two okay?"

The father was the first to speak. "We're fine, but where's out daughter?"

"Your daughter!?" SnowMan quickly turned around to re-enter the house, but it collapsed just as he did. Hate and rage toward the people who did this welled up within him, but before he could attack his enemies something stirred inside the collapsed building. "What?!"

As he looked into the collapsed house, several chunks of wood were tossed aside as a black robot stood in the flames. It suddenly 'grew' silver armor and blades, along with a helmet.

The woman SnowMan had saved screamed in fear, while her husband looked on in amazement. SnowMan stood in disbelief as Issen walked out of the blazing mess, girl in arms. He set her down at her mother's side before turning to SnowMan and the Sniper Joes behind him.

"I take it your not with them?" SnowMan raised an eyebrow as Issen's cheek marks changed from Ice blue to fire red.

"No. They came here after me, so stay out of this."

The Sasquatch (is that how you spell it? I'm not sure, but oh well) like robot gave Issen a hard glance. "Look, I don't care if they came here after you. They tried to harm the Russian people, and I won't let that go." He tried to walk away from Issen, but he caught him by the shoulder.

"I'll handle this. You're not strong enough. Besides, if we fight now, your people are going to be in the line of fire. I'll fight while you move them." SnowMan nodded to Issen and quickly helped the mother to her feet and grabbed their still unconscious daughter from the ground. As he and the humans ran, several explosions rang out from behind them.

IIIIIIIIIIII

Issen slid into a fighting stance, putting one foot behind the other while crouching. His blades remained behind his arms however. 'Objective one complete, commencing second objective. Enemy count: 15 SJ's. One RA is approaching from the north. ETA 4.39 minutes. Mission start.'

Issen charged his busters and activated his Boost. The Sniper Joes detected his increased energy and began firing upon him, but Issen leapt over the first volley of fire and dashed to the nearest Sniper Joe. It tried to raise its shield, but he ripped it away and grabbed the green robot by the head. After sucking its energy dry, the silver clad robot swung the body into another Sniper, destroying both at the same time. His other enemies had used their brother's demise to surround Issen. After analyzing the situations for a second, his blades swung into position as he began hacking the closest Snipers to pieces. As he continued to attack the enemies, his blades caught on fire, adding to the damage he was causing. One by one, the automated robots fell to either Issen's blades or busters. Before long, only one robot was standing amidst the carnage...

SnowMan, after evacuating the Russian family, looked on in awe as Issen single-handedly destroyed the entire group. As he finished the deed, Issen turned to face the Russian robot. "...Who the heck are you?!"

Issen looked SnowMan over before speaking. "My name is Issen. There's a Ride Armor closing on our position. I suggest that you evacuate the remaining civilians from this town. I'll take out the Ride Armor." With that, Issen began walking north. Before he got far however, he turned and spoke once more.

"Hey you."

"I have a name you know. I'm SnowMan, Dr. Cossack's latest creation."

'Cossack? His name was on the note. I'll speak with this SnowMan later.' Issen turned around. "Tell the girl I saved that I'll need the poncho back once I return."

IIIIIIIIIIII

Sergeant Kenny V. Wilson had a debt to repay. After being humiliated by ProtoMan, he felt it necessary to hunt down and destroy both Issen and ProtoMan.

"Wilson, you'd better bring that RA back in one piece."

"Yes sir, Major. Thanks again for letting me requisition the plasma cannon as well."

"Just get your job done."

"Yes sir!" Wilson cut the communication link just as something appeared on his radar. "Looks like he's coming out to meet me head on. I don't want to disappoint him, now do I?" He smirked as he activated the Ride Armor's jump function.

Issen stopped in an open field. Something was wrong. He couldn't detect the Ride Armor with his sonar anymore. Switching to his thermal vision, he saw the Ride Armor just in time to jump out of its way. The mecha's feet slammed down into the soft snow, sending a small shockwave of snow from the point of impact. Issen landed more gracefully on a nearby rock. Something about this Ride Armor looked familiar...

"Still fast as ever Issen. I'm going to put a stop to that!"

Issen took a look at the Ride Armor's pilot and recognized him. "You again? I thought they'd have given you a court marshal for losing me."

"In your dreams! I'm an ace pilot you walking trashcan!"

"Walking... Trashcan?! Who the heck are you calling a walking trashcan!?!"

"You of course! Let's get this started!!" Wilson pulled the trigger for his shoulder mounted plasma cannon, sending a huge blast of energy at Issen.

Issen's blades were instantly in a blocking position. The white-green energy slammed into his blades, knocking him back a few inches. For a moment it seemed as if his blades would give under the pressure, but the energy was quietly absorbed before such an event could occur.

**NEW WEAPON ACQUIRED. PLASMA SHOT EQUIPPED. ENERGY ALLOWS FOR 3 SHOTS.**

A shocked scream from Wilson caused him to smirk. "It seems you didn't read over my abilities." Slowly, Issen's silver armor changed to a nuclear green. He raised his hand as his blades retracted. With a shout, he prepared to return the powerful blast to its owner. "Plasma Shot!"

The energy ripped away from Issen's hand and impacted the Ride Armor in the chest, creating a massive dent in its chest plating. He fired a second shot, but it missed as Wilson strafed out of harms way. Issen re-equipped his blades and lunged at the Ride Armor. Wilson tried to catch Issen with the mechas massive fist, but he used the RA's arm as a foot hold to reach the shoulder joint. The sound of metal being melted filled the air as Issen took most of the Ride Armor's shoulder off with his blade. Landing behind the Armor, Issen turned to face his opponent once more.

"You! I'll have your processor for that!!"

"Catch me first." Issen dashed at him again, but was greeted by an EMP net instead of a fist. The energy coursed through his system, shutting almost all of it down. "What?!"

"How do you like that?!" Wilson grinned as he grasped Issen in the Ride Armor's remaining hand. The massively powerful hand started squeezing Issen, threatening to crush him. Before it could however, Issen managed to wrap his hand around one of its fingers. As Wilson continued to try and crush Issen, the entire Armor was running out of power. When the hand stopped crushing him, Wilson knew what was happening. "Hey! No fair!"

'Second objective completed.' Issen, now fully powered, shoved the hand apart and climbed up to the cockpit. "I believe you called me a walking trashcan earlier." Before Wilson could make any excuses, Issen's hand was around his neck. "Goodnight."

IIIIIIIIIIII

SnowMan had evacuated most of the town at this point, and was preparing to leave himself when Issen re-appeared.

"Where's my poncho?"

"It's right over there, Mr. Happy." SnowMan thumbed in the direction of a store. The brown cloth was billowing in the breeze, hanging just above the front door. "The girl said thank you."

"I fulfilled my objective. Nothing more." Issen walked over to his poncho, retracting his armor and blades before putting it on. "Oh, and tell Dr. Cossack I said 'thanks'. Also, take care of the mess I left in the Ride Armor. He won't wake up for a while, so take him with you."

"Sure thing Issen. Where are you going?"

"I don't know. Goodbye SnowMan. If I ever see you again, maybe we can have a sparring match or something." Issen began walking out of the village, headed south this time.

"See you around Issen."

IIIIIIIIIIII

Okay, so it wasn't really a 'boss'. It was more like an 'intro stage boss' like the crab thing from MegaMan 8, or the scorpion robot from MegaMan Zero 2. But anyway, please review and eat chocolate.


	6. Unknown upgrades

Here we go. Yet another chapter of Issen's aimless wanderings. Hope you all had a nice summer, cause school has officially started. This is my junior year, so I might not have much time to write these cool fictions that you people like so much. Sorry! On the plus side, I might be able to get one of my artistically inclined friends to do some character art for me! I hope you all enjoy this chapter of "The Rising Shadow". Please review!

Disclaimer to ward off law-suits and keep people away from my property: Capcom owns MegaMan and the others, while I get to keep Issen. Have a wonderful day.

IIIIIIIIII

"In other news, the small village of Ivan'kovo, just a little over seventy-five miles away from Moscow, was attacked by a group of rouge military forces earlier this week. While the robots used in the attack were made in America, the Russian military would not comment on who they believe instigated the attack. Amazingly, there were no casualties in the attack thanks to SnowMan and another robot that appeared during the attack. SnowMan, the newest robot created by Dr. Cossack, was created to protect Russia's citizens and create a balancing force against America, Japan, England and many other countries robots. When asked about the mysterious robot that helped him, SnowMan refused to answer any questions and merely called him a friend. We'll try to keep you, the viewers, updated on this situation. This is Mary Centeno, signing off for the World News Network."

A hand picked up the remote. Its index finger quickly pushed the power button, cutting off the slew of commercials that were starting. "So, that fool Cossack was responsible for repairing Issen, correct?"

"Yes sir. The Russian military has him under heavy guard right now, so sending a Master in to eliminate him would be quite impossible."

"What of Issen? He gained more power from the Ride Armor, did he not?"

"Yes sir. The situation is getting out of control. He is headed south, and will soon reach a Russian military base. If he is able to sneak aboard an aircraft, there's no telling where he'll end up. Shall I send out a Master?"

"No... Let's test Issen's skills against the revived Master the Russians have there. Besides, we only have Four Masters currently. At most, we'll have six by the time he figures out who's really chasing him."

"As you wish sir..."

IIIIIIIIII

'Total base staff is 503 personnel. Civilian count is around 724. Robots are not active, but there are around fifty that could be activated immediately upon detection. If I avoid the housing areas and aim straight for the armory, the chances of being noticed are 19 percent. Using the cloak is a must, but I should keep it to a minimum. Chances of being discovered before the objective is completed are next to none.'

Issen was hanging from a tree a mile from the base. The winds were extremely harsh, but his immense strength kept him attached to the tree. As he finished his analysis, he jumped down from his vantage point and began his run to the base. His reason for sneaking into the base was to acquire some much needed supplies. Issen didn't use his Boost system to move faster, as the energy output would alert the bases sensors. All that mattered when approaching this type of situation was stealth, not speed. Before long, he would enter the base and find the equipment he needed...

IIIIIIIIII

It was late in the evening, and a half full moon cast its soft glow upon the base. Four guards were conversing near a barrel fire, their rifles slung over their shoulders as they relaxed in the fire's warmth. If any of them had been paying attention, they would have noticed a dark form jumping over the nearby fence. To their misfortune, they were not paying attention.

Issen put his back against the closest wall he could find, getting out of the moonlight that could have given his position away. His poncho was folded under his arm, leaving only the dark green suit he had underneath. By his earlier scans, he knew he was over a hundred feet from the closest armory, which was his first target. Several mines, patrol teams, and dogs were in his way. The living threats weren't as bad as the mines however.

'They're almost everywhere. Type-N2 pressure mines designed to recognize the boot print of the Russian Military. Anyone else steps on them and they explode.'

Issen reached down and flicked the ground. The extremely slight tremor gave him rough positions of the nearest mines. Unfortunately for him, the mines were randomly placed. This meant that the mines could be scattered anywhere and everywhere. Deciding to take the easy path, Issen edged his way toward the gathering of guards. With busters set to stun mode, he stepped out and fired four shots. Each shot impacted cleanly on the guards, knocking them off their feet but not killing them. A few minutes later, Issen had cut off the soles of a pair of boots and used some light adhesive to attach them to his feet. He tossed the rest of the boots into the fire and dragged the unconscious soldiers to a more secluded area, but not before pilfering their wallets.

'Mines neutralized. Now all I have to worry about is getting caught.' As if to spite him, a sudden ringing tone echoed in his mind. 'What the...'

**CODEC ACTIVE. SIGNAL RECEIVED FROM FREQUENCY 128.21-PROTOMAN.**

'ProtoMan? Open link.'

An image of ProtoMan appeared in Issen's view. Somehow, he knew that no one else could have heard the tones in his mind. "So, you've managed to survive for a while now. What does freedom feel like?"

"It feels good, however I must say that not having a clear objective bothers me. Why are you calling me, and why did you save me in the first place?"

"The answer to the second question is simple. The financial backer of your production wanted to use you to start a war. To prevent this, I got you out of there ASAP. As for the first question, I'm going to tell you how to use two new functions Dr. Cossack outfitted you with."

"New functions?"

"Yes. If you haven't seen a mirror lately, you now have stripes on your cheeks. Depending on the color, your attacks will have different elements. In example, when you were fighting those American robots back at the village your blades were doing fire damage. This is because you had been hanging out around a lot of fire beforehand."

"So if I stick around snow for a while, I can use Ice attacks, correct?"

"Yeah, now you're getting the picture. I'll send you a program to monitor your element status." Issen noted an indicator appearing next to ProtoMan's picture. It slowly filled up, alerting him to the download process. "Another item of interest is the balancer program. Whenever you adapt to a certain element, energy shifts from one system to another."

The meter next to ProtoMan filled completely, and a green swirl appeared next to Issen's energy meter. "The program's all here. I expect the green swirl means Wind element, correct?"

ProtoMan nodded. "Yup. If it's working correctly, you should now have the double jump ability."

"That could come in handy. Thanks ProtoMan."

"You're welcome. Oh, and if your ever in need of repairs you can contact Auto. His frequency is 102.95. Good luck on your escape from Russia!

"Thanks ProtoMan, but escaping shouldn't be a problem."

"You wouldn't say that if you knew what they had on that base."

"What?"

ProtoMan grimaced. "They've revived one of Dr. Wily's old creations. GrenadeMan was originally stationed in a Russian grenade factory. Since they found him first, they decided to rebuild him using the latest technology. I'd gather some information while your there, because they might be planning an attack on Egypt soon. See ya later."

"Wait!" But it was too late. ProtoMan had cut the link. 'Why would Russia attack Egypt? I'd better find out.' With those thoughts, Issen slid into the shadows once more.

IIIIIIIIII

Well, I hope you people are content now. Please review and eat chocolate!


	7. Do you know where YOUR spies are?

Junior year is already turning into a living heck. Please review, go eat chocolate, listen to remixed MegaMan music at www (dot) ocremix (dot) org, and be happier than I am!

IIIIIIIIII Armory

Issen slinked along the armored building, searching for an opening. So far, the only way into the Armory was a locked door. His better judgment told him to search for other openings, but none were apparent on the ground floor. The roof however was a different matter. Using his double jump ability, Issen silently landed on the armory's roof and began his search for an alternate entrance. Clouds were gathering over the base, blocking out the moonlight and warning of the coming storm. Issen ignored this omen and, finding an open vent, made his way into the armory. The vent was extremely cramped, so much that his armored form would never fit inside.

'My designers were smart. They knew that infiltration would be a main part of my job, so they made my armor retractable. If I knew where they were I would probably thank them... But then again, they'd probably try to kill me.' Issen smirked. 'Too bad they'll never get a chance to do so.'

He stopped above a grating and looked into the room below. Apparently, a soldier was skipping out on guard duty and reading a book instead. Unfortunately, he had his back turned when Issen dropped through the ventilation shaft. All the guard was able to do was let out a muffled scream as Issen clamped his hand over his mouth and drained his energy. A nearby locker became the guard's new home.

The room Issen was in appeared to be a changing room for off-duty guards. Several AK-47s were lined up against the wall, along with a few winter coats and boots. Nothing of value however. Deciding to expand his search, Issen slowly opened the door, only to find a guard coming in. Once again, this guard was drained and placed in a locker.

'Okay, let's try this one more time.'

Issen turned the doorknob and pulled the door open again. Luckily, there wasn't a guard outside this time. Considering that he was on the second floor, it would only be reasonable to assume that more guards would be around eventually. Issen soon spotted a container of weapon energy capsules, or W.E.C.'s for short. He snagged a few and recharged his Plasma Shot before moving on.

He decided to move onto the main storage area, which was on the lower level of the Armory. Before he got far a guard was spotted on his sonar, and he was closing fast. Deciding to let this one stay awake, Issen cloaked himself and walked on. The guard didn't even bat an eye as the two passed. The stealth robot smirked as he entered the elevator, switching off his cloak as he punched the "1" button. There was a soft 'bing' noise as the doors closed.

There was another soft 'bing' as the elevator stopped. The first floor was more open, with fewer hallways than the second floor. In fact, there was enough room for six tanks on the first floor. There were only two at the time, as the rest of the Armory was covered in supplies. Several energy tanks were present, along with a large assortment of other weapons. He grabbed the energy tanks and left the arms where they were. He was getting tired of carrying the poncho under his arm, but rather than tossing it he grabbed a small backpack and packed it neatly inside. Several adjustments and the application of bullet proof body armor later the bag didn't make a single sound when Issen moved. He also grabbed two Chaff Grenades as an afterthought. Deciding that he had enough supplies, Issen slipped out the front door, unlocking it incase he had to return.

IIIIIIIIII

It had started snowing now. The wind was blowing even harder than before, taking visibility to almost nil. Issen switched to his thermal optics and pushed through the storm, making his way slowly, yet stealthily, toward the main command center. Several guards passed him, never even knowing he was there amidst the darkness and snow. Within a few minutes, Issen was inside the command center and finding a place to dry off in peace. The most accommodating place he could find was a broom closet, which could barely be called that. After a few minutes of drip drying, Issen used his sonar to check for guards and stepped out. He walked quietly down the halls, avoiding several security cameras by slipping underneath them.

Issen eventually reached the main control area, where two soldiers were stationed as sentries. Deciding to take the direct approach for once, Issen simply stepped out into the hall and blasted them in the face, knocking them out for at least an hour. He once again picked their pockets for loose change and stashed the currency in his backpack. Seeing that there wasn't a suitable place to hide the bodies in the immediate vicinity, Issen had to leave them in the open. Not that he really had a choice. Both guards wouldn't fit into the broom closet, and carrying them around would make WAY too much noise. He sighed quietly as he pushed onward. Leaving bodies lying around in the open was almost an invitation to take your head off and give it to your enemies.

Fortunately, the control area had no one in it and only one camera. The only problem with the camera was that it was positioned in such a way that Issen couldn't sneak past it. And as fate would have it, the base Commanders office was on the other side of the room.

'Well, this sucks. Wait, I grabbed some Chaff grenades back at the Armory. Problem solved.'

He smiled slightly as he pulled the pin on one of the grenades and tossed it near the camera. There was a thick booming sound that permeated the room as the grenade went off. With a small window of opportunity, Issen made a mad run for the other side of the room, foregoing any stealth tactics and simply using all the speed he could muster without using the boost technique. It worked, and the camera came back online just as Issen reached the Commanders office. Issen did a quick scan for alarms before picking the lock and entering the room. The office was Spartan in its furnishings, a desk and three chairs were the only real furniture. While Issen was by no means a judge of character, he decided that the Commander probably wasn't the greatest person to serve simply because of the intimidating office he kept.

The state of the Commanders office aside, Issen slid into his chair and turned on his computer. Several minutes of hacking later and Issen had full access to the Russian's plan to attack Egypt.

'So Egypt has been creating a new robot as well, and Russia wants to use GrenadeMan to destroy it. Sounds like a decent plan on paper, but they don't even really know how powerful this "MirageMan" really is. Besides, if Russia goes through with this it will start a war between the two countries. War means death for the people involved...'

Issen thought this over. His main programming was to spare as many humans as possible during his mission, but most of the related programming had been lost. Stuck in a moral dilemma for the very first time in his life, Issen decided that saving as many lives as possible should be his goal in every situation he found himself in. That settled, he searched for the date set to implement the plan. He gasped in surprise when he found the date.

'It's happening tonight! They're probably loading GrenadeMan right now. Screw stealth, I've got to hurry!'

Disregarding the bases advanced sensors, Issen powered up his busters and shunted the power to his boost system. There was a loud crash as he dash jumped through the door and into the control area. Several alarms were set off immediately, but Issen ignored them and continued on his high-speed journey out of the command center. With only ten minutes remaining until take-off, Issen used every speed skill he knew to get out of the building as fast as he could...

IIIIIIIIII

"Sir! We've got a hostile inside of the compound!" The soldier snapped to attention as the old general turned to him. "We've activated the robot regiment, but they won't be able to intercept it before it reaches the tarmac!"

The gruff man merely smirked as he pulled out a cigarette. "Well, we have two tanks sitting out here, don't we?"

"Yes sir! Those were scheduled to aid GrenadeMan in his fight, but we can use them to hold off the intruder! They don't have anti-beam armor however, Sir!"

"Oh well. All we need to do is hold him off, correct?"

"Yes sir!"

"Then get moving! I want those tanks primed and ready as of a minute ago!" The soldier didn't even wait to be dismissed. He had learned the hard way that you didn't wait when the general wanted speed.

IIIIIIIIII

Issen blazed through the ice storm, catching a lot of snow in the crevices of his body. It didn't matter however, as the snow buildup didn't slow him down in the least. His boost shut off just as he reached the flight-line, allowing him to deploy his armor and blades while surveying the aircraft being used for transport.

'A type 53-D long range "Jumper". Typically used to move supplies through extreme weather conditions, but it could easily be retrofitted to lift several tanks or a regiment of robots. There should be some light resistance here, but I can't... Holy--!!'

Issen dodged to the side as two tank shells pounded the spot where he had been standing. The blast knocked him to the side, causing him to land face first in the fresh snow. He quickly stood up, letting his blades swing into place and switching to his Plasma Shot settings. His final thought before charging into battle was a simple one.

'I hate Tanks.'

IIIIIIIIII

Just a quick little note, Chaff Grenades are used to momentarily disable electronics. While this affects most robots as well, Issen has special shielding built into this body to block such interference. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the little stealth/espionage action chapter. There will probably be a few more like this one later on, but don't expect this to turn into Metal Gear Solid (Even though I partially based Issen off of said games hero, Solid Snake). Well, that's it for now. Review please!


	8. Dreams unnerving

Okay, its time for the sub-bosses and the first real boss! Sorry I didn't update sooner. Something was up with my internet and it wouldn't load the upload page, and therefore I couldn't update. I own nothing except Issen, who invariably is going to destroy the Universe! MUWAHAHAHAH!! Okay, I'm done now...

To Dragon Man 180: He likes being hit with his own grenades? Interesting, but I never really saw that in the games. Thanks anyway though!

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'Confirmed, two Tiger MK-4 heavy assault tanks. Crew complement of three. Armed with AP mortars, a double barreled top-mount machine gun, and a 33 mm cannon. There's a weak point in the armor just above the main hatch, where a blade can cut all the way through the tank and destroy it. However, if I cut a few meters above that line, I won't destroy it and its crew will live.'

Bullets sparked around his feet, signaling it was time to move. Issen started his attack by double jumping high into the air, bringing his blades back along his arms and waiting for the correct moment to strike. His aim was true, and Issen descended on the first tank with all the fury of the blizzard surrounding him.

"Silver Air Raid!" Mere meters from the tank, Issen swung his blades horizontally, cutting through the main turret and almost to the ground. Amazingly, he missed all of the Tiger's crew but managed to slice the engine in half. He rolled off of the tank's turret as he landed, taking a small amount of damage from impacting the tank's armor.

'Reminder to self; one hit kills can damage the user as well if the surface below is really hard. Question though, how did I know the name of that attack?'

Deciding to not waste his energy on his thoughts or another one hit kill, he turned his attention to the second Tiger, which was firing its top mounted machine gun at him. Several bullets flew past his head, prompting Issen to move to a more defensive position. The bullets continued to fly as Issen dove off the turret and used the first tank's body as a shield, all the while planning out a strategy for defeating the second. Glancing around the tank's edge, he spotted the Jumper prepping for takeoff.

'Two minutes to takeoff. I don't have time to mess around.'

Coming to a decision on his plan of attack, Issen checked the second tank's position. It hadn't moved, but it had stopped firing at the first Tiger and was bringing its main gun into play. Several Russian personnel panicked and jumped out of their damaged tank when they saw the impending doom that their brothers were sending their way. Frowning at the prospect of being blown up, Issen activated his cloak and made a hasty escape towards the second tank. The Tiger's main cannon boomed, reporting that it had just killed its brother. Said tank exploded, sending shrapnel flying into the air. The distraction of the first Tiger's destruction gave Issen enough time to stab his blade into the second tanks engine.

"Game over." The voice that came behind Issen was gruff in the truest sense of the word. He felt something large, round, and hollow being force against his back. "I'd suggest turning off that cloaking device and showing yourself; otherwise I'll fire this rocket launcher and blow us both to hell."

Issen turned slowly, deactivating his cloak and showing himself.

"I suppose you're the one who wanted to start a war." Issen glared daggers at him, but the old general either didn't notice, or didn't care.

"Nah, that's Russian central command's idea. I'm just the messenger of death. Now why don't you just kindly surrender yourself into our custody, or do I have to make that an order?"

"Sorry, but I don't take orders FROM ANYONE!!" Issen's voice steadily rose as he spoke, and with the general focused on his face Issen used his buster to quickly knock him out before he could fire. "Fool. Never take your attention off your opponent's weapons."

The Jumper's engines were beginning to roar at full power now, signaling it's readiness for flight. Issen used his boost technique again, this time pushing himself to the limit as he tried to catch the plane. With wheel's still down, Issen was able to catch it and climb into the wheel well. The wheel slowly began to rise, threatening to crush him, but Issen cut through the ceiling and made his way into a cargo compartment. Noting the extreme lack of guards on such an important flight, he quietly waited for his cloak to recharge.

'I've had a lucky day so far. Almost no damage and no ones died. I should be safe if I rest here. Besides, it'll take at least two hours to reach Egypt. As long as I take this plane down before then, everything will be fine.' Issen slipped into a quite sleep, setting his internal alarm for an hour's worth of recharge...

IIIIIIIIII

ProtoMan looked out over the city of Tokyo with a happy smile. Just moments ago he had been alerted to Issen's escapades in the Russian base and his battle against the tanks.

"The kid's doing well. As long as Wily never gets his hands on him, we should all be fine." Just then a tone rang in his helmet, alerting the wandering robot of a new e-mail. "Dr. Cossack again? I wonder what it could be this time..." He opened the message and read it.

"Subject - Element abilities and a warning.

Hey ProtoMan. I was finally able to complete my analysis of Issen's prototype Element Change system. Issen has the ability to change his element status by simply being around a certain element for a short period of time. This also affects his stats and his abilities, but you already knew that. What's interesting is that his system, by itself, has expanded the amount of abilities the changes grant him! While this should be impossible, we must remember that I still have no idea how his systems work because they were so much more advanced than anything I've ever encountered. Since I installed a wireless surveillance device in his systems when I repaired him, I've been able to keep track of his systems advances while studying it. Here's a list of elemental abilities I've discovered so far.

Fire element- Flame blades. Increases his blade attacks and allows him to use a technique called 'Flaming Cross'.

Ice element- Ice buster. Increases defense and allows Issen to use a technique called 'Diamond Vein Slash'.

Wind element- Double Jump. Increases his speed and allows him to use a technique called 'Silver Air Raid'.

Electric element- Elec buster. Doubles his buster power and allows him to use a technique called 'Flash Point.'

Also ProtoMan, I found that Issen's energy system continually evolves in a semi-organic manner. When he absorbs different energy types, his body adapts to it and increases his main energy supply by utilizing the new energy source. If he ever came into contact with a nuclear weapon of some kind, his power may increase to untold levels!

While the chances of this ever happening are slim, we must remain aware that people all over the world are after him for one reason or another. If he is ever caught and reprogrammed, we could face a catastrophe of worldly proportions. I have a feeling that even he doesn't know his true abilities though. I'm going to contact Dr. Light and MegaMan about this as soon as I finish my study of his operating system, so be prepared to support your brother and Issen. Well, that's all the news I have for you. See you around ProtoMan."

"So, the kid is a lot more dangerous than we suspected. I'll contact Issen as soon as he reaches Egypt."

IIIIIIIIII

Issen was sound asleep, having the AI equivalent of a dream. The plain was vast, with little or nothing except the desert sand disturbing his view of the horizon. The red dawn was settled in the east, sending rays of unbroken light over the desert and creating the illusion of a fire razed world. The sand itself was turned red by the light, adding to the ominous effect. He was wearing his poncho again, and the early morning breeze was ruffling his red hair ever so slightly. He was walking west, his shadow leading the way. Little droplets of warm liquid began falling, coating the desert and turning it an even darker shade of red. He lifted his hand to catch a few of the drops and let them pool in his hand for a few seconds. His eyes widened in surprise at the color of the rain.

'The rain... it's red like blood!'

Indeed, the rain that matted his poncho and the back of his head was disturbingly blood-like. It began to fall faster and faster, until the red rain became almost a monsoon. Then it suddenly stopped without a sound. The wind had also stopped, letting an uneasy silence settle over the desert. A shadow came over him, blocking out the sun...

Issen's eyes snapped open as his internal alarm went off. There was a small amount of frost surrounding his body, having formed when the snow on his body melted and refroze because of the cold temperatures in the sky. His Element had also changed to Ice in his sleep.

'Well, I guess I should get to work. I only have an hour until we reach Egypt. Still, that dream was rather strange...'

He saved the dream in the back of his mind and concentrated on his task. There were several boxes nearby, each filled with a large plasma tank. Guessing that they were for GrenadeMan's use, Issen set his hand against the side of a tank and began to siphon energy from it.

**TOTAL ENERGY CAPACITY INCREASED BY FIVE PERCENT.**

"Wow. That's a new feeling."

Issen registered growing warmth inside of his chest for a few seconds. It faded soon, and Issen decided to continue on his way. He found a ladder and an escape unit. The Jumper was a double decked aircraft, with one cargo hold positioned right above the other. Since Issen couldn't find GrenadeMan in the lower hold, he climbed the ladder to the upper hold. Still, there wasn't a single guard.

'Perhaps they rushed the takeoff so I wouldn't be able to get aboard, and in turn none of the guards made it aboard either. Seems logical enough.'

He shrugged off the uncomfortable feeling he was getting and searched around the room. The front of the hold consisted of packaged Grenades and other explosives which were stacked to the roof, making the back of the hold impossible to see without closer inspection. Issen retracted his armor and slid between the crates, being careful not to accidentally pull a pin from a stray Grenade. After a few seconds of tight spaces he finally reached the other side of the cargo hold and found his objective.

GrenadeMan slept peacefully inside of his capsule, awaiting his first activation after his defeat at the hands of MegaMan. The blue and orange robot had a hook protruding from his head that curved down behind his head, somewhat like that of a grenade. Just below his head was a ribbon of yellow and black, followed by a grenade like body. His shoulders were plated with orange, while his blue arms and boots completed the strangely unnerving look. All in all, he looked quite calm for a death machine.

"So peaceful looking in his sleep, yet so deadly when awake. Kind of sad, now that I think about it."

Issen sighed as he re-applied his armor. Equipping his blades, Issen raised his right arm and prepared to strike. Then he heard a shout from behind him.

"You! Turn around and keep your hands where I can see them!"

Issen turned around slowly. The pilot had apparently taken a break and, after setting the plane to autopilot, heard his musings and was now aiming an AK-47 at Issen's face.

"How the heck did you get on this plane?"

"Easy," Issen replied, "I disabled your Tiger MK-4 assault tanks and cut my way into the wheel well. I was napping down there for a little bit before I came up here."

The pilot looked a little shocked. "You were the intruder?!"

"Yeah. Your point is?" Issen began charging his busters, hoping desperately that the pilot wouldn't notice until it was too late.

"I've got orders to take out anyone who tries to get in our way. Sorry buddy, but I've got to kill you."

He brought the aim of the rifle up a little bit, aiming for Issen's forehead. Issen, sensing this, dodged to the side as the pilot opened fire. The bullets instead impacted GrenadeMan's capsule, activating him prematurely. In the meantime, Issen had finished charging and used Boost to get the drop on the poorly trained pilot. Within a few seconds, the pilot was down and GrenadeMan was finished waking up. The blue and grey robot smiled and gave Issen a thumbs-up.

"I'm GrenadeMan!" The robot was rather cheerful for someone who liked death and destruction. "I suppose that you're here to retire me, correct?"

"Yes. I can't let you attack Egypt."

"Okay! Then I guess we'll have to fight!!"

GrenadeMan made the first move, shooting a grenade at Issen with a shout of "Flash Bomb!" The attack missed, hitting a wall instead of Issen, but the effect still remained. A tiny group of shutters in Issen's eyes slid over his retinas as the intense light filled his vision. GrenadeMan took this time to fire off a trio of grenades from his buster, all dealing a little bit of damage to Issen before he could recover from the blinding light. Just as Issen's vision returned, he heard a shout of "CRUSH!" before being knocked aside by GrenadeMan.

**ENERGY LEVEL AT EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT. PLEASE USE CAUTION.**

"Okay. Time to turn the tables."

Issen pushed himself off the ground as GrenadeMan prepared to charge at him again. The blue and orange robot dashed, but found that his original target was no longer where he had been. Issen brought both of his busters to bear on GrenadeMan and opened fire, searing his back with energy fire. The attacks barely fazed him however. GrenadeMan turned and grinned, firing another 'Flash Bomb' at Issen. This time, Issen blocked the attack with his blades, and the light was instantly absorbed.

**NEW WEAPON ACQUIRED. FLASH BANG GRENADES NOW AVAILABLE.**

GrenadeMan issued a surprised look before deciding that Issen needed to die. He fired another volley of grenades at him, but Issen used his blades to deflect them back at his attacker. GrenadeMan dodged all but one of his grenades, causing him to clutch at his side for a moment before resuming combat.

Issen charged both of his busters, shunting the power to his Boost system before charging at him with reckless abandon. GrenadeMan dashed at Issen as well, and the two locked arms when they met. Issen got the drop on his opponent by draining some of GrenadeMan's energy. He noticed this maneuver immediately and kicked Issen away. He tried to fire a grenade at Issen, but the silver and black robot reflected it. He then used the long reach of his blades to slash repeatedly at GrenadeMan, who used his arms to deflect some of the hits. Eventually though his defenses were worn down. As a blade struck his chest, GrenadeMan suddenly made a decision.

"CRAZY DESTROYER!"

The deranged robot leapt away from Issen as he tossed several explosives on the ground. Issen noticed them just in time and jumped into the air as they exploded, leaving an empty hole where the floor used to be. Both combatants landed in the lower hold as the grenades and other heavy ordinance crashed down around them. Several explosions erupted, creating holes in the side of the aircraft. Issen gripped a coolant pipe as the hold depressed, sending most of the equipment tumbling. A grenade slammed into his back and exploded, but Issen kept his grip and turned to find the source. GrenadeMan, holding onto a pipe of his own, was firing madly at him. The wind caused by the decompression was sending most of the grenades off course. It also served to change Issen's element status.

"Time to end this." Issen charged his buster and aimed at GrenadeMan's hand. The blast of energy flew true and struck it, sending the robot sliding towards one of the gaping holes. He quickly found footing on a box of explosives that amazingly hadn't exploded and began firing again, but not before Issen had achieved a full charge. He fired the blast at the explosives crate and sent GrenadeMan to his second grave. He could have sworn he heard GrenadeMan yell "That felt good!" as he exploded...

"Objective complete."

The plane suddenly shuttered as its engines exploded. The battle had destroyed too many coolant lines and the plane was beginning to fall like a rock. It was then that Issen noticed the Pilot who had held him up. He was wedged between a plasma tank and the wall, still knocked out from Issen's drain. The silver and black robot pulled with all his might to reach the Pilot, using his blades to force him free once he reached him. The box moved eventually, freeing him and allowing Issen to grab his body. Issen scanned the cockpit of the Jumper and, finding no one inside, decided now would be a good time to escape. A small altitude meter appeared in his vision.

"Ten-thousand feet and falling. Great. Time to use the escape unit."

There was a flash of light as Issen and the pilot disappeared.

IIIIIIIIII

"Thank-you again." Issen waved to the village with the uncaring attitude of most modern day teenagers. Several of the villagers waved back, but it was only out of common courtesy. When he and the pilot had landed on the desert floor, Issen immediately took him to the village and paid for his care. Since he had no reason to stay, he bought a few supplies and marched off into the desert. Using the map and compass he had purchase Issen plotted a course to Egypt, and more specifically Cairo. It would be a long walk through the desert sands...

IIIIIIIIII

Issen beats down his first boss! FINALLY! I hope you people enjoyed this, because I spent a lot of time and effort on it. Since your review is the only reward I will ever receive for this hard work, please do so now!


	9. Sand storm sweep

SNIPER! (Ducks behind his desk as paper wads are thrown at him.) Okay, so I'm slowing down on updating. Junior year sucks, okay?! Oh well. At least you people reviewed, and that makes me happy. Okay, now for the disclaimer. I own Issen. Capcom gets everything else.

IIIIIIIIII

"Sir, our latest intelligence shows that Issen has moved into the northern regions of Africa, and will reach Cairo within a few days. Your orders Sir?"

"We're going to attack when he reaches the Nile River crossing at Cairo. I want seven tanks on the ridge, and as many Ride Armors as possible on the plain. Sniper Joe's are worthless against him."

"I understand sir. What should we do if he's cloaked?"

"Bomb Cairo of course."

"B-bomb them sir? What about the civilians?!"

"Look, we have direct orders from the UN council to destroy Issen, no matter what. They probably won't be too happy with us, but oh well. I WILL see Issen dead even if it kills my career."

IIIIIIIIII

If one looked out from the top of any building in Cairo, they might have noticed several tanks rolling through the desert. They would have also noticed ten Ride Armors meeting up with them and setting up an ambush. What they probably wouldn't have noticed was the wander who was about to walk into said ambush.

As Issen approached the crest of another sand dune, he noticed several signals on his sonar. Unfortunately, the warning came too late as several plasma blasts hammered his immediate position. Before another volley could be fired Issen flung his poncho to the side and applied his armor. Leaping high into the air, he began firing his busters at the Ride Armors. Unfortunately, the blasts only served to ruin the Armor's paintjobs. More plasma sliced through the air, followed by cannon shells and AP (anti-personnel) mortars. Issen, still in the air at this point, began his decent to the desert sand. The shells and plasma passed over Issen's head by a few feet. The mortars, however, exploded in the air and rained down destruction from above. Issen took several hits and ground his teeth from the pain. Luckily, the blasts only hit his back and did little real damage. Having charged his busters during the fall, he activated his Boost and dashed toward the nearest Ride Armor. Two quick swipes and the machine had no legs.

'Wow. These Armors are a lot weaker than the last ones. Their commander probably cut their budget.'

The tanks fired their cannons again, but refrained from using mortars because of Issen's proximity to their fallen comrade. With his Boost still active, Issen was able to slide gracefully underneath the volley of fire and began tearing into the other Ride Armors. One made a grab for Issen, but found air in his place and a blade in its engine. A second Ride Armor used its plasma cannon on Issen, but the silver robot simply absorbed the energy and returned the favor twice over, toppling the machine. By now, Issen was tired of beating down his enemies and decided to test his new weapon. His armor turned a silvery blue as tossed the grenade.

"FLASHBANG GRENADE!!"

There was a flash of light as the grenade hit the ground and detonated, blinding almost everyone within a quarter of a mile. Issen, having covered his eyes to avoid blindness, made a mad dash for the city. He looked back at the battle site once he was across the river, noticing that the military vehicles were slowly being collected and prepped for transport. Then he noticed his poncho in the sand.

'Dang it... Guess I'll have to buy a new one. There's no way I'm going back there just for the poncho.'

IIIIIIIIII

"Sir, Issen has escaped again. He's moving across the river as we speak, and will be out of our current range in twelve minutes. Should I order the bombers to strike?"

The Major grimaced. "No. The general has decided to pull us out. Stupid chain of command..."

IIIIIIIIII

The market place was brimming with activity. Travelers buying up souvenirs, salesmen shouting out their wares and said items price, but mostly families trying to survive in the harsh desert. It was easy however, even among the hustle and bustle of the market place, to see the stranger clad in dark green walking down the street. The damage to his back also pointed out the fact that he was a robot in need of repair. His red hair was filled with the desert sand, giving him a rather rumpled appearance. Also, a trail of red poured down his back from his wounds, giving him an almost human appearence...

As he walked, the crowd cleared a path for him. True, no one in the marketplace stared at him for any real amount of time, but he was still noticed by everyone. He stopped only once in the market place, in front of an old, beat up shop that almost no one was buying from. The few that were shopping at said store decided to make their transactions elsewhere. Spying a quality cloak inside the store, he moved in to check its price. Finding it acceptable, he took it off the rack and approached the owner of the store. The old woman looked him up and down once before speaking.

"I take it you liked the cloak?"

"Indeed. Do you accept Russian currency?"

The woman paled when he spoke. "Y-yes... Although I don't really know the exact exchange rate."

"That's okay. Here's all the money I have. I'm sorry if it's not enough, but I've got to keep moving. Thank-you and have a nice day."

He put the cloak on as he walked out of the shop, and once more the crowds parted like the Red Sea, giving Issen a clear path to the desert, and in turn, Cairo. Before he could leave town however, a little girl dropped her ball, which rolled into Issen's path. The child, having no fear of the stranger who stopped in front of her ball, tried to run out and get it. She was stopped by her mother, who unlike the daughter feared the stranger. Issen knelt down and picked it up, studying the ball as if it held all the secrets of the known universe on its rubber surface. His face was stern, almost emotionless as he turned it over in his hand before turning to the girl and her mother.

"I believe this belongs to your daughter."

The mother, stunned by his voice, released her daughters hand for a few seconds, allowing the youth to retrieve her property. The girl quietly reached for the ball, and Issen handed it over without a word. The girl nodded her thanks and smiled at the robot, who gave her a questioning look in return.

'Why does she smile?' He wondered as he stood once more and began walking. 'I don't know what I did, but she expressed happiness when I returned her toy. It was a simple action, yet it gave a complicated reaction. For some reason, her smile made me feel, I don't know, good? I don't understand this...'

As he exited Cairo, he adjusted his course to the south, toward the great Pyramids of Egypt. The monuments were said to be the hiding place of MirageMan, who was to be completed any day now.

It was then that he heard the beeping in his ear, signaling a call. It was ProtoMan again.

"Hello ProtoMan."

"Hey Issen. You did good back in Russia. No one's dead, they have everyone accounted for, all in all a good day. Property damage was a little high though..."

"Property can be replaced. Do you have any information on a robot named MirageMan?"

"Yes. He has the ability to create mirages of himself and send pillars of stone up through the ground. Other than that he's pretty slow."

"Good. It should be easy enough to destroy him if I can keep my eyes on the original."

"Good luck. Oh, and watch out for his charge attack. It'll send you for a loop if you get hit!" ProtoMan cut the line, abruptly ending the conversation. "Be careful Issen. We can't have you dying on us just yet, because certain people need to be found and dealt with before anyone, especially you, can have peace."

IIIIIIIIII

Yeah, it was a shorter than usual, but I wanted to get another chapter up. The homework load is extremely huge, so I will be taking my time in updating until the second semester. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!


	10. King of the Nile

Well, here goes. Another chapter for you, my faithful reviewers. I thank those who are still reading this for their patience, as I haven't updated in quite some time. You should all know by now that Issen is my own creation, while MegaMan and company are property of Capcom.

* * *

The stone hallway stretched deep into the dark pyramid, beckoning Issen into the dry and dusty tomb.

'There's got to be at least a dozen traps in here. Spikes, bats, flame throwers, and who knows what else. That's why I'm equipped with sonar equipment, to detect these kinds of things.'

Issen kneeled on the ground and raised a fist into the air. Gathering his strength, he slammed his fist into the floor and waited for the resonance. Dust, long undisturbed and gathered in layers, shook free from its hold and fell onto the floor. The vibration's reflections returned to his hand, alerting him to the poison darts positioned an inch in front of his face and a myriad of other traps. He slowly backed away and planned his course of action. After a moment of deliberation, he began charging his busters and started running through the traps. Darts flew past his calves as he ran past them. Several spikes shot out from down the hall, almost lancing him through the chest, but Issen had known about their existence and dodged out of the way. Several darts also tried the same trick, but they failed miserably.

'Pathetic waste if you ask me. Those trinkets wouldn't pierce an inch of steel at this range.'

As more darts and flying spikes continued to obstruct his path, Issen kept his busters at full charge but held off on using his Boost technique. Several stone pillars shot out of the walls, trying to crush the silver runner before he passed. Issen's above average speed saved him from the painful death he would have endured, leaving him to move further into the stronghold. A set of blades dropped out of the ceiling, trying to cut Issen in half and possibly quarter him, but Issen's armor deflected the old and dull blades. Several flame throwers sparked to live, illuminating the ceiling as the flame burst from the floor. Issen ran straight through it, causing his element system to re-adjust itself to its fire configuration. Unfortunately, the fire from the flame throwers didn't last long, and the darkness was increasing with every step. This left Issen to rely on his night vision for sight, but it didn't help him when a slab of rock dropped down behind him and cut off all the remaining light. Without light, Issen's night vision died out completely.

**EXTERNAL LIGHTING ACTIVATED**

'This could come in handy.'

Issen smiled as his helmet gem let up, exposing the hallway and allowing him to see once more. His smile quickly faded as several mini-tanks began their approach. Refusing to use his Boost, Issen charged forward and began slashing through the pint sized cannons. He was suddenly glad that he had held onto the charged shots as several robots that looked similar to Ancient Egyptian mummies emerged from rotating wall sections. Several of them tossed their heads at Issen, but he batted their faces away with his blades. He released both of his charged blasts into the mob of robots, destroying most of them with the dual blast. The remaining few fled into the rotating walls they had come from.

"For a top secret construction facility, the security here is rather lax…"

"So it would seem, Issen. So it would seem…"

Issen whirled about, trying to find the voice that invaded his presence. There was nothing there, even though he felt someone watching him. His eyes only met empty hall and ancient hieroglyphs that had long since been worn away by the elements. The voice that had spoken seemed to echo down the halls, letting him know that the voice had really spoken and it wasn't just his mind playing tricks on him.

"Who are you? Show yourself."

"Fool. I am your creator! You were meant to create chaos! Issen, why have you chosen to save the weaklings around you?!"

"Because…"

Issen stopped. He really didn't have an answer. Why did he protect those around him? Why did he spare all of the humans he had faced in Russia? Why had he not committed murder? He knew he had an ethics module installed in him, but he had the ability to disable it at any time. Why didn't he disable it? These questions rang through his mind, remaining unanswered yet serving their own purpose…

"I don't know. Right now, I don't really care either. Now show your self!"

"You should care, my creation, because these choices will come to haunt you eventually! We shall meet soon enough Issen!"

And with those final words the voice faded away, leaving Issen alone with his thoughts. He looked around, searching for any audio devices that may have been placed in the cracks, but Issen found nothing in the dust laden tomb. He sighed, giving up on his fruitless search for answers. Down the hall, a light turned on and beckoned him onward in his search for MirageMan…

* * *

"Has the first model been resurrected?"

"Yes. MirageMan will be completed by the time the intruder gets past the first model."

"Good. It appears that our traps are ineffective… Perhaps it is MegaMan?"

"No sir. The video feeds made it clear that this robot is massively different from MegaMan and Bass."

"Hm. I see. Make sure that we take him by surprise."

"Yes sir…"

* * *

Issen walked cautiously into the room before him. It was a large, rectangular area with track lighting installed in the roof. As he entered the room he heard a mechanical buzz from behind him. Issen turned around just in time to see a metallic door lock itself over the entrance.

'This can't be good.'

Realizing his escape had been cut off, Issen scanned the room for another exit and found nothing. There was a metal door on the opposite side of the room, but it too was sealed. Nothing but the electrical hum of the lights broke the silence until an energy beam shot through the roof and materialized into a robot. The machine wore a Pharaoh's crown, immediately alerting Issen to who he was facing.

'PharaohMan, who was previously defeated by MegaMan in the fourth Wily War. How I know this is yet another question though…'

There was no time for mental inquiries now however. PharaohMan leapt into the air and sent an orb of energy at Issen, who absorbed it with his blades and fired a few buster shots in retaliation. The majority of the volley hit PharaohMan, knocking him to the ground. He got to his feet quickly and began charging up, preparing to release his secret weapon. Issen crouched low, getting ready to dodge whatever attack the revitalized robot would throw at him by charging his busters. As his attack reached full charge, PharaohMan thrust his hands at Issen.

"PHARAOH WAVE!"

The energy wave lanced out at Issen, who was still crouching on the floor. Moments before the wave hit him Issen released himself like a spring and flew high over the attack. PharaohMan stood around for a moment too long as Issen descended on him with a massive punch that knocked the Egyptian themed robot to the ground. He quickly followed up with dual charge shots, sending the dazed robot crashing against a nearby wall. PharaohMan stood up slowly, trying to gather his strength for another Pharaoh Wave. Issen beat him to the punch and brought his blades down to his hands. They burst into flame as he raised his hands to strike.

"Flaming Cross!"

Before PharaohMan could flinch Issen had brought one of his blades into a horizontal cut that traveled through his shoulders and chest, followed immediately by a vertical slash that halved his opponent. There was a moment of silence as PharaohMan stood in silence, his eyes fixed on Issen in a death glare of sorts. The moment passed, and the yellow and black robot exploded into a ball of metal and fire. Issen shielded his face until the light and projectiles stopped. Lowering his hand, he studied the crater where PharaohMan had once stood. A second passed and several explosions were heard as the second gate unlocked itself for the victorious robot. Slowly, Issen made his way over to the door and passed through it. Instead of a return to the dusty tomb interior Issen was used to, the walls became steel instead of stone. This was unnerving for Issen, but not as unnerving as the fact that the hall ended about twenty feet in.

'What…? All that work for a dead end? No, there's something here. They wouldn't have PharaohMan guarding this if it was a dead end.'

Issen took a step into the short hallway, and was rewarded with a large creaking noise as the floor gave way. The inky blackness below threatened to swallow him, but Issen managed to catch the edge of the walkway. His grip was firm enough to sustain him, so he turned his head to look into the pit. He could see the panel resting against the wall next to him, and further down was a mean looking set of spikes. Several meters beyond that was a pit which led even deeper into the ground, and the wall behind it had a green 'this way' arrow pointing down. Knowing that the only way forward was to go down, Issen pulled himself out of the pit and prepared himself for the long jump. Setting his feet against the edge of the pit, he crouched and let himself tilt towards oblivion. At the last second however, he sprang forward with all the power he could muster. He made it over the spikes and into the void beyond it. The darkness enveloped him shortly after…

* * *

The lab was quickly evacuated as MirageMan came online. According to the video monitors, he would land outside the operations center in just a few seconds. As the final update was sent to MirageMan, he opened his lavender eyes and blinked for the first time. He was up in a flash, wide awake and alerted to the situation. His advanced mind was already thinking up a way to defeat Issen…

* * *

The darkness was all consuming. Issen had already charged his busters and was shining his light against the nearby walls, but the light from his helmet wasn't enough to pierce the ink he was falling though. The only good thing that had come from the long free fall was Issen's element system changing to its Wind settings. Suddenly, Issen felt a vibration off the walls that showed the floor only a few hundred feet down. Using his blades as fins, the silver clad robot piloted himself closer to the wall and, after activated his boost, grabbed onto the wall and used it to slow his decent. He still hit the ground level at a good speed, but thankfully he didn't take any damage from the impact. Before him was a door that had light shining out from the cracks.

'Could MirageMan be behind this door? There's only one way to find out and complete this mission.'

Issen reached forward and pushed open the door. There, sitting on a table and abandoned by his creators, was MirageMan.

'Well, no time like the present.'

Issen brought one of his blades up and slammed it down on the table. There was nothing there.

'It's a Hologram?'

Issen wheeled around as he heard something metallic hit the floor behind him, and found MirageMan's fist in his face. The unexpected blow tossed Issen across the room, landing hard in some of the equipment that permeated the lab. The crushed equipment sent a small electric charge through Issen's body, once more causing an element change. He was up in an instant, ready to fight. He took the time to observe MirageMan's build, sensing that it might be important. The robot was desert themed, of course, and had a brown and tan paint job, with surprisingly dark black highlights. MirageMan's body was all curves, as if he had been carved to be a statue instead of a war machine. Somehow, Issen found a word that seemed appropriate to describe him. Bulky arms and legs, with an even bulkier chest led Issen to categorize him as a golem. Its left hand held a strange mirror like device, which lead Issen to question what the item actually was. His head was short and cylindrical, and apparently had no mouth. Somehow, MirageMan managed to speak.

"You are Issen?"

"Yes."

"Then answer me a question. Why were you created?"

"I don't know. There was a partial memory wipe before I came online. All I know is that people will die if I do not stop you."

"People will live because I exist. You are wrong, and so I will crush you with all of my strength!"

With that, MirageMan leapt at Issen and descended on him with an unholy fury. Issen rolled to the side to avoid the attack, but was suddenly lifted into the air.

'What the?! Oh yeah, he can raise pillars from the ground… right into the roof!'

Seeing as the ceiling was approaching quickly, Issen shoved him self off the pillar and back into the fight. Unfortunately, there were two targets in the fight instead of one.

'This will complicate matters…'

The two robots quickly attacked Issen, throwing heavy punches that would have shamed any human fighter. They scored two hits before Issen retaliated with his blades, slicing off the arms of one MirageMan. It faded away, leaving only the original to fight. The remaining robot swung a huge haymaker punch at Issen that barely connected but still sent him flying a good distance. Yet again, more property damage ensued as the silver armored wanderer skidded across a table full of parts and plans. Before Issen could move again, he felt a bright light shine on him from MirageMan's position. Unfortunately for MirageMan, it hit one of Issen's blades as well.

**WARNING! ENERGY LEVEL AT FIFTY PERCENT. PHANTOM MIRAGE ACQUIRED. ALLOWS USER TO PROJECT A HOLOGRAM OF THEMSELVES. CURRENT ENERGY ALLOWS FOR 18 HOLOGRAMS.**

Issen didn't have time to congratulate himself on the acquisition of a new weapon at the moment. He was struggling to get himself into a prone position when a buster shot sent him tumbling again. When the rolling stopped and his vision cleared, Issen stood up and was greeted by something that looked like a copy of him self, which was standing right next to MirageMan. Thinking quickly, Issen charged his busters and dropped a Flash bang grenade. The two opponents threw up their arms to shield their eyes, giving Issen ample time to formulate a plan and begin carrying it out. Activating his Boost, he dashed into his clone with blades extended, effectively impaling the hologram and causing it to dissipate. Issen and the half blinded MirageMan were alone again, and the latter was none to happy.

"DIE!!"

MirageMan wound up for another punch and let loose on Issen's face, but his backward dash saved him from the desert themed robot's fist for the moment. Unfortunately, Issen's saving grace turned into a dooming error as MirageMan raised a pillar of stone into his back. This one was sharp, and its jagged edges tore through Issen's back and ripped away the dual spikes from one side of his helmet.

**ENERGY LEVEL AT THIRTY-EIGHT PERCENT. RECOMMEND EXTRACTION FROM COMBAT.**

While Issen was stunned, MirageMan rushed forward with another punch that the silver clad robot barely dodged.

"Why won't you just die?!"

"Sorry, but I can't die just yet. Flash Point!!"

Issen lunged at his opponent, bringing his blades into a cross slash that trailed electricity as it went through MirageMan's chest and arms. True to the name of the attack, the point at which the cuts crossed flashed brightly as MirageMan exploded.

'Well, at least that's over… What should I do now? Well, I need to get to the surface again…'

Knowing that his boost wouldn't last all the way up, Issen looked around for another exit. Instead of finding an elevator however, Issen found a teleport module.

'Well, this should make travel easier.'

He smiled as he opened up a compartment in his arm and, using all the available tools nearby, installed the new item.

**TELEPORT MODULE INSTALLED. DISTANCE PER TELEPORT IS 4,000 MILES DUE TO CURRENT ENERGY LEVELS AND DAMAGE SUSTAINED. ENERGY IS CURRENTLY AT THIRTY-FIVE PERCENT DUE TO COMBAT DAMAGES AND CRITICAL USAGE. RECCOMENT IMMEDIATE REPAIRS TO BODY.**

'Well, at least I have a way out of here now. But that still doesn't answer where I'm going… Maybe ProtoMan has some information.'

Issen opened his Codec program, allowing the communication link to prepare itself while he found ProtoMan's frequency number in his memory.

'Let's see… Frequency 128.21. ProtoMan, do you read me?'

There was a small beeping tone as ProtoMan's picture appeared in Issen's eye.

"Hey Issen. Let me guess, you've defeated MirageMan and need to know where to go next."

"Yeah."

"Jeez. You really need to work on making your own decisions Issen. Anyway, we've got no real enemies right now. If you want, you could return to Dr. Cossack's lab and say hi to him. Or, you could come to Tokyo and hang out here until more trouble arises."

Issen was silent for a few moments before he spoke again. His voice, though still thoroughly evil sounding, was a little unsure.

"I guess I could come to Tokyo. It may take me a few hops, but I'll make it. Could you have that Auto fellow on hand? I need a few repairs."

"Sure thing Issen. We'll be waiting for you."

The signal cut off as Issen began plotting his teleportation jumps. His first jump would land him somewhere near the democratic nation of Afghanistan. While there was still a few rebel uprisings in the region, Issen had no fear of the civil unrest. After a short recharge period, Issen would then teleport to central China and wait for a similar amount of time before he teleported to his final destination of Japan. According to his maps, he would find himself near an old Shinto shrine in the mountains, giving him ample opportunity to recharge and teleport to Tokyo if nothing came up in his trip.

'Total charge time needed for distance is 40 minutes. It shouldn't take too long to make it there, only about three hours.'

With a route finally planned out, Issen teleported to his first stop. Little did he know that the fastest route can also be the most dangerous one…

* * *

Fwee… Another chapter finally finished. What did ya think? Review please! 


	11. Of the earthen wastes

Woo-hoo! Another scene in the desert! (Note the sarcasm.) I own nothing. Metroid Prime 2 and MegaMan X8 rock.

* * *

The desert sands were calm, unmoving in the heat of the day. There was no wind, but soon enough there would be. A blazing sun always heats the air, which causes the hot air to rise and be replaced by cooler air. Thus we have wind, and sandstorms in this case. These facts went unnoticed by the caravan of traders as they continued their almost silent walk across the desert. Seventeen camels and enough humans to take care of them walked through the sands, preserving an ancient tradition that their family had upheld for several decades, if not centuries. It was a small clan that had marched across the desert countless times in trade routes. Adults, teens, even the children who couldn't walk yet were taken on the journey. Happy families, content with roaming the sands and selling their goods to who ever wished to buy them. Unfortunately, everything that theycared about was going to be ripped away from them in a mere matter of moments… 

Issen walked calmly in the desert heat. Cloaked wrapped tightly around his damaged parts, he counted down the time until his teleporter module could recharge. He had relaxed now from his battle mode, letting his coolant stained hair dry out in the sun. The leak itself wasn't critical, but a few days without repairs would render him useless from his hard drives overheating. Slowly, as the monotonous deserts continued to pass by, he thought back to his experience in the market. It had only been a few days, yet his memories were crystal clear. The little girl had smiled for him, for no other reason than the return of her dropped ball. Would she have still smiled if he had not picked it up and given it to her? What would her reaction have been if he had kicked the ball down the street?

'It's all too complicated.' he thought, 'I'm not meant to be… I don't even know what I'm meant to be, so why should I rule anything out? For all I know, that voice in the Pyramid could have been right. I could have been created to make chaos, but… Somehow, I just don't buy that. It doesn't fit in with my design specifications in the least, and I have never wanted to destroy anything other than the things which endangered other people. I guess I just need to go back to the beginning. I was born five miles outside of Sendai, Japan in a JSSDF bunker buried a mile underground. I was tested for several qualities, including my maximum strength, speed, and energy absorbing qualities. And after that I don't remember anything until I woke up and got attacked… Why did they attack me anyway? Was it something I did? There are too many questions and not enough answers…'

The caravan was entering a small valley between a series of sand dunes. Upon one of the nearby dunes, a group of mechanical beings prepared themselves for the attack. Several Sniper Joes, a few Scorpion attack drones, and their leader watched and waited as the small, almost defenseless caravan trudged into their trap…

Issen's musing was interrupted by an explosion. It was small, but it was still enough to shake the desert sands a little bit. Issen immediately leapt to the top of the nearest dune to examine the disturbance. About a mile away, he could see several small bursts of light. Guessing that someone was under attack, he charged his busters and activated his Boost. He dashed madly across the desert, taking off his poncho and folding it up as he went. As he finally reached the sight of the attack, he found himself beholding a massacre. Bodies were lying everywhere, holes blasted through them by energy weapons. Apparently, no one had been spared. Men, women and children had been slaughtered. From the looks of it the group hadn't even had time to counter attack, if they had any weapons at all.

'What the?! They were… humans? Who could have done this? No robot could have. All robots, with the exception of Dr. Wily's,are programmed with the Three Laws of Robotics in them. Could a group of humans accomplish this? No, humans here wouldn't have access to high energy weapons. The only kind of energy attacks that humans can use are plasma cannons attached to Ride Armors. So… what could have done it?'

Issen was answered by foot-steps approaching him. He turned to see a desert camouflaged Sniper Joe approaching him with it's buster at the ready. It was unprepared for Issen's dash however, and was slammed to the ground as he crushed its head and drained its energy. More Sniper Joes appeared on the sides of the dune, all centered on the still black robot. He also 'heard' something underneath the sands using his sonar, most likely a group of Scorpion Attack robots. Issen sensed that he was outnumbered by a margin of twenty to one. He tried to activate his armor and blades, but a warning message appeared when the armor activation command failed.

**WARNING! ARMOR IS DAMAGED AND CANNOT BE ACTIVATED. REPAIRS ARE NECCECARY BEFORE ENTERING COMBAT.**

'This is not good.'

Issen's silver blades slowly unfurled as he took a defensive stance. Several Sniper Joes took the initiative and fired off several rounds. Thinking quickly, Issen ducked low as the volley came at him and dashed underneath it. The Sniper Joes had little time to defend themselves as Issen zipped around them and cut them apart from behind. Several buster shots passed over his head, alerting him to the presence of several Scorpion robots. Using the last of his boost, he jumped down the sand dune and grabbed one of the approaching Sniper Joes, using its body as a shield as the others fired on him again. As he slid down he cut into the sand with one of his blades, destroying several of the Scorpions that were hiding there. When he reached the valley, he started charging his busters as he made a run for the ruined caravan. Once he had a full charge, Issen spun around and released the energy at the sand at the base of the dune. The resulting explosion caused the dune to partially collapse, sending the robots in and on it rolling into the open. The rain of buster shots Issen released afterwards destroyed the remaining enemies, leaving him alone in the remains of the caravan.

'So it was a group of robots… but how? Unless they were built without the three laws programmed into them, they couldn't have killed these people. And who would have done such a thing…?'

"Oh, so you're the punk who destroyed my men…"

Issen whirled around, facing the voice that had spoken to him. Upon the nearby dune stood a Ride Armor, with a gold armored robot behind the controls. His helmet had a single brown fin jutting out of it, and his shoulders had similar augmentations. Issen stared at him, considering his firepower and strength. The Ride Armor was armed with a plasma cannon and a set of twin chain guns on the opposite shoulder.

"Yeah, they killed the caravan, so I destroyed them. I assume you're they're leader?"

"Yup! I'm GaiaMan! Dr. Wily built me, so it's my duty to destroy!"

'Dr. Wily built him?!' Issen grimaced. This wasn't turning out to be the greatest day of his life. "If all you want to do is destroy, then you must understand what it is that you're doing. Flash Bang!!"

Issen dropped the weapon on the ground and charged headlong at the Ride Armor as it exploded in a brilliant flash. GaiaMan covered his eyes as it exploded and fired his chain guns randomly, further destroying the remains of the caravan but missing Issen completely. The blade bearing robot came at the ride armor with a rising slash that took off one of its arms and damaged one of the chain guns.

"Oh no you didn't!!"

GaiaMan, looking very pissed off, pulled back and fired the plasma cannon him. Issen jumped high, but caught some of the blast with his blade to absorb its energy. Noting a rise to thirty eight percent energy, the black and silver robot decided to go for broke and came down on the Ride Armor in downward slash that almost halved it. Noticing his armor's extreme damage, GaiaMan yelled a battle cry as he set the self-destruct and jumped away from the damaged machine. Issen was hot on his heels, firing buster shots to try and slow him down. Unfortunately, he wasn't far enough away from the Ride Armor when it exploded, which subsequently threw him to the ground as the heat tore through his back.

**WARNING!! ENERGY LEVELS HAVE REACHED SIXTEEN PERCENT! RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE EXTRACTION FROM BATTLE. TELEPORTATION MODULE IS ATEIGHTY PERCENT OF FULLCHARGE.**

"Hah! Now let's see you try and destroy me!"

GaiaMan slowly approached Issen's abused form. Using his powers, he summoned a large slab of stone which hovered precariously over Issen. With a wave of his hand, the stone slammed into his opponent's broken form. The golden armored robot let out a mocking laugh as he pointed at his foe's supposed defeat. Unfortunately for GaiaMan, our red headed hero didn't plan on dying just yet. The cold and menacing voice of Issen was heard by GaiaMan as he turned to leave.

"For those people you killed without remorse, likewise, I shall have none for you."

The sound of metal being ripped apart filled the air as Issen's blades plunged into GaiaMan's back. The Wily bot's body went slack as he fell to the ground, two holes in his chest. The winner staggered away from his opponent, exhausted by his use of a Phantom Mirage.

**GAIA SHIELD ACQUIRED. ALLOWS USER TO CREATE A WALL OF ROCK THAT WILL BLOCK ATTACKS. TELEPORTER IS FULLY CHARGED.**

"Finally…" Issen breathed the word out as he turned to face the ruined caravan. The burnt bodies and goods would eventually be buried by the sands, and there was noting Issen could do to bring them back. "This wasn't right… Nothing done here was correct in the least. I'm sorry I couldn't help you… I hope you all find rest, wherever you are."

Tired of the depressing scene, Issen disappeared in a beam of light, only to reappear right next to the Great Wall of China. Exhausted from the short battle, he sat down against the wall and shut down as he waited for the Transporter module to recharge. Hopefully, he wouldn't be bothered by anyone…

* * *

It was happening again. The dream from the Jumper transport had returned to him, but with some major changes. This time, he was entering an ancient shrine as the blood rain poured down. He walked though the shrine, uncertain of where he was going or why he was there. Rice paper doors were a dead giveaway as to his general location, as were the Kanji that had been written on several sheets of paper. Issen stopped when he heard something move in the room next to him. Slowly, he opened the rice paper door and looked into the room. A woman was sleeping on the floor. Her aqua marine hair was a mess, and she was tossing and turning violently. Slowly, Issen walked over to the woman with his blades in his hands. His left blade swung up, returning to its position behind his arm. Slowly, he reached out and brushed her hair out of her face. The woman calmed at his touch, no longer experiencing a nightmare. Slowly, one of her eyes opened. 

"Hmmm…? Go away… it's not even morning yet…"

Raising an eyebrow at her ignorance, Issen rose to his feet to leave the room when he heard a scream from behind him. Turning to see what it was Issen inadvertently shoved his blade into the poor woman's neck. Luckily, the gash was merely a flesh wound, but it was still enough to make the poor woman scream. Issen covered his ears in an attempt to block out the noise, but it was a futile effort. Something hit knocked to the ground, which caused the world go blank after a moment...

* * *

Issen woke up in a fit. His cloak was roughly thrown about as he thrashed, but soon he calmed himself. The sun was shining down on him, which was almost an exact opposite of what his dream had presented him with. While Issen wasn't one to believe in premonitions, this one had him worried. He was headed to Japan, to an old Shinto shrine no less. He breathed out a sigh as he looked around, running a black gloved hand through his messy red hair to settle it. Within moments, Issen's transporter module reached its full charge and notified the rest of his system. 

"Well, I guess I'll see if my dreams meant anything at all."

In an instant, Issen disappeared into the sky in a beam of light…

* * *

Ugh… It feel's like it's been forever since I updated this story. Hopefully you people haven't forgotten me just yet. My long hiatus of updates can be contributed to school, games, and trips but that wouldn't be entirely truthful. I've been lazy, and I admit it. I just hope that this hasn't been forgotten by anyone other than me. 


	12. Change

Heh… Uh, hi again… No, this story isn't dead… I've just… ARG! NO MORE EXCUSES! I WILL FINISH THIS! DARN ME TO HECK FOR OVERBURDENING MYSELF!

Review replies:

Dragon Man 180: Oh don't worry. Issen's going to find Wily sooner or later, and it won't be a happy meeting...

The Nitpick: ...Yeah. I had no idea about the exchange rate at the time... Let's just say Issen automatically translated the amount into US dollars...? Besides, the amount is changing all the time. Therefore, I'd technically never be right.

NeoMatrixV2: Sorry about the wait. Hopefully this won't disappoint, even though it's kinda short...

* * *

Appearing on a stone path, Issen took in his surroundings. The path was old, overgrown with weeds and moss. Up ahead, however, the path had been cleaned, as if someone was cleaning it only to a certain point. Shrugging it off as mere human laziness, Issen began walking toward the cleared section of the path. Night was falling now, and to the east the stars were beginning to appear in the sky. The steady beat of his boots against age old stone barely broke the silence that filled the air, his senses on high alert now that darkness was beginning to surround him. There were people up ahead, or so his heat-vision told him. One appeared to be a female, while two others were male. One of the males was a child, but all were currently sleeping. Sneaking into the shrine and acquiring some supplies would be easy.

"Clock start at nine thirty-eight P.M., Japanese time."

There was an almost complete silence even as Issen brought himself a full run. With a graceful leap, the machine landed with only a muffled thump on the opposite side of the fence that surrounded the compound. A quick visual sweep of the area confirmed that not a single sentient or animal had been awakened by the red headed robot's entry. A silent creep into the shrine's pantry revealed several well deserved energy capsules, replenishing the depleted hero's reserves within moments.

**ENERGY LEVELS AT SIXTY-FOUR PERCENT OF MAXIMUM. TELEPORTATION MODULE IS EIGHTY PRECENT CHARGED.**

'Good. At least I can fight with some confidence now. Time is now ten forty P.M. Objective achieved. Now I've just got to get off the property before anyone notices that I was here…'

Sliding out of the house was just as easy as getting in. No one had been awakened, and no one had been injured. Once more on the outside of the fence, Issen decided to go higher up the mountain that the shrine called home. It only took him a few minutes to reach the peak, which had a slight mist creeping over it. The moisture quickly receded as he heated his body, clearing the slight fog and revealing an amazing view of the sea beyond it. Heated breath spilt from his mouth as he breathed, appearing as white wisps of mist before disappearing into nothingness. This struck him suddenly, bringing on new thoughts in the still night.

'Like myself. I will eventually be destroyed or break down from natural causes. Just like the humans will… Am I really saving them, even though they will eventually disappear anyway? Is it worth it? … Maybe it is. We all interact with each other, and by interacting we affect each other in different ways. If I hadn't saved that girl in Russia, she wouldn't have interacted with her parents, friends, or anyone else. I guess… in that way, it's worth being active. Yes, it is worth saving these lives. And they are worth the effort to avenge them, as well.'

Far, far away, Issen could see waves crashing against the shoreline. Clouds dotting the horizon, moonlight casting a soft blue-green light on them in the darkness. Stars, millions of them dotting the black sky, caught his attention. Stoic, he breathed out again, raising his blood red eyes to the sky as his crimson hair fell away from his face.

"So many… And yet, I'm alone, as it was meant to be."

**TELEPORTATION MODULE IS FULLY CHARGED.**

Issen disappeared. Just below him, a young woman frowned. Soft blue hair cascaded down her shoulders, curving around her body as it tried to obey the law of gravity. Unfortunately, the hair didn't cover the wicked looking scar on her neck…

"…You aren't alone, Issen Kaze…"

* * *

There was a moment of silence when Issen appeared on the main teleportation platform in Dr. Light's lab. Several robots were milling about, but all of their routine activities stopped with his arrival. A female type with blonde hair slowly backed away, rightly fearing the intruder. The robotic dog by her side growled protectively, sinking low and preparing to pounce on the intruder at a moments notice. Other than the dog's growl and the hum of computers, there wasn't a sound to be heard inside the complex. Everything was perfect for that second, mainly because Roll Light had not screamed and slammed her hand on an alarm switch, but Issen felt compelled to speak. …How unfortunate…

"Is this Dr. Light's lab?"

Roll screamed and hit the alarm moments before Rush pounced onthe red haired robot. Thankfully, Issen's poncho took the brunt of the assault before a blue hand pulled the robotic dog back. "Down Rush! Down!"

A little stunned by the assault, Issen was hesitant to sit up, since the red guardian known as Rush had already taken a dislike to him and there was a sixty percent chance that he would attack again. "…Can I get up now?..."

A buster arm replaced the dog. If ever there was a more potent 'No' reply in Issen's life, he couldn't remember it."Not just yet. I'd like you to answer a few questions first. Who are you?"

Issen recognized the voice. It belonged to the second Light-Bot ever created… MegaMan. "My name is Issen."

"Issen? Well, what are you doing here?"

"ProtoMan informed me that I could, as he put it, hang out here until more trouble shows up. He said that he and Auto would be waiting for me."

Although he was still lying down, his ears clearly heard the female-type sharply inhaling in shock. "You knew ProtoMan?"

"He has contacted me on several occasions. And why did you say 'knew' instead of 'know'? Has something happened?"

"…You can sit up now."

Issen did so as the buster moved out of his face. MegaMan was walking out of the room, something clearly wrong by the look on his face. Roll was casting worried glances at both of them, but didn't move. Obviously, something had happened, and it didn't look good.

"Um…" Roll faltered, a questioning glance on her face. "…You said that Auto would meet you. Why did you need to see him?"

"I have sustained combat damage. As of right now I cannot use my armor, though most of my weapon systems are intact."

Roll smiled, realizing what must have happened. "Oh. Okay. Come right this way, I know where we can get you repaired."

Standing, Issen quickly matcher her pace as they walked through Dr. Light's lab.

* * *

Upon a table sat the first semi-sentient robot in existence. ProtoMan, though he didn't look it, had suffered a terrible amount of damage. Scanning arrays circled around him, recording every area that had been affected and trying to determine the cause. Dr. Light already knew the cause however. Sitting at a control station, he waited until the scan had been completed before shutting down the system. The readouts told him everything he already knew. Heavily, he set his face into his palms.

"How's he doing?"

The doctor lifted his face from his hands, turning his attention the lab assistant turned hero. "…I'm sorry MegaMan. I should have told you earlier, but your brother had an error. I… I guess he was too proud to accept my help. He thought he could control it, but I knew he would eventually start to break down. ProtoMan's energy systems are degrading even as we speak… I can repair the damage, but…"

MegaMan nodded. Just by looking at the scans, he could already see that the problem was impossible to repair. "Just a few days ago, we could have saved him, but now…"

"The problem isn't the energy system itself, but the energy being used. It's such a crude form of fusion that it began breaking down his body the instant we started it. If we try to stop the flow, his system will crash and be unrecoverable. We can't turn off the power because it would surge his system and burn his Hard Drive, which would have the same consequence. …It's hopeless…"

The blue bomber turned his head, looking at his creator. "Did he know about it?"

"Of course he did. His damage readouts showed him every day how much time he had left until a critical shutdown occurred, but he ignored it."

"No one lives forever, Doc." ProtoMan turned his head, looking at them through his visor. "No offense Rock, but even you won't functioning for eternity. Your Micro-Fusion fuel tank will eventually break down. Eventually, every one of us will break down."

"ProtoMan…" Thomas Light stared at his son, who should have been completely disabled at the moment.

"I know, it sounds cold, but it's the truth… The New Model is promising doc, but it's still a variable."

The old doctor smiled at that. "Yes, I know. In mathematics, X is a variable that can stand for anything. I'm glad that you see his unlimited potential… As my first creation, I know you know the importance of him…"

"Yeah, he's the son you never had. But… it also works the other way doc. He's going to choose his own path. We don't know which way he'll go… If you're going to throw caution to the wind and still set him up, at least have a failsafe in place."

"I do. The thirty years of testing should be more than enough to ensure his stability."

"And if it isn't?"

Dr. Light paused. It took him a few seconds, but eventually he gathered his words. "Then… we'll need a back-up… "

ProtoMan smirked from his reclined position, nodding to the aging doctor. "I think Issen might be able to handle that, which is exactly why I brought him here. Something about him is different from every other robot in existence… Maybe even X, but I can't be sure. He does display some Type-Two qualities. With a little upgrading, I think he might be able to stand a chance against X."

MegaMan stepped forward however. "But there's still Wily's unit. His Two-Type… Bass said that the specs looked pathetic by his standards, but that doesn't mean we're in the clear."

"Right you are, Rock, but here's the thing. I discovered something interesting about Issen's construction. Several parts that were never identified by the military were used in his construction. Also, the benefactor behind his construction is still unknown… Ever since Dr. Cossack dove into his systems, I thought the readouts looked vaguely similar a certain someone's code…"

Dr. Light was intrigued. He leaned over the console with extreme interest. "And whose code did it look like?"

"Why, my dear doctor, none other than your own…"

* * *

"Well, it looks like your doing a lot better Issen. Your energy levels are at ninety-eight percent of their maximum and I've finally been able to restore power to your armor systems."

Roll light hovered over her console, watching carefully as Auto tinkered around with Issen's internal parts. Issen himself was in a Reserve Mode, awake, but unable to do anything but blink. A few small warning lights were going on in Issen's head, but he tried his hardest to ignore them. His attention was immediately shifted to the massive green mechanic when he 'whistled'.

"Well Issen, you certainly have some nice parts in here! Top of the line merchandise as far as the optical lens can see. Couple of things I don't recognize, but we should be able to identify them in just a few minutes."

As much as he wanted to tell Auto to find the nearest building and jump off of it from any height that would permanently damage his processor, he held his place and refused to exit the Reserve mode.

"Maybe you shouldn't pry into Issen's personal life Auto. We've got to get this finished for the night anyway. You know how bad our electrical bills have been lately with X's construction."

"Aw, but they look so cool! Just five minutes Roll, please?"

"No Auto. Besides, I've finished things on my end. Issen, as soon as Auto finishes closing you up, you're free to move around." Having the ability to say thank-you would have been nice, but once more Issen restrained himself. "You know, for being a combat type, you're kinda cute with your helmet off…"

"And I'm not?"

Roll's expression went flat. "You don't have hair, Auto."

"And it's a good thing too. Your outer shell is not suited to interpersonal relationships." Having noticed that all of his body had finally been closed up, Issen raised himself up and activated his armor. Auto yelped as the streamlined robot cut through the air with one of his blades. "Thank-you for the repairs, Miss Roll."

"No problem Issen. Just remember to be safe in everything you do, so I won't have to see you damaged anymore!"

She smiled warmly, winking at him. In the back of his mind, something in Issen's mind said that the motion was too realistic to be pre-programmed… His mind would have pondered on this matter, but something… Something was wrong… Something inside of him, and it was spreading. "…Miss Roll, Auto, did anything strange come up during the operation…?"

Auto quirked his eyebrows. "Uh, no… nothing except those weird parts in you. Why Issen? Is something wrong?"

"I don't know… My systems just…Uh!" Without warning, his knees buckled. Luckily, he managed to get one of his blades down and into a crutch like position before he completely fell down. "That's what it was! There's a fourth sonar signature in the room! Cloaked!"

"What!" Roll stepped backwards, toward the doorway to the rest of the lab. Unfortunately, it slammed closed right behind her. Auto reached out for an alarm switch, but it exploded without an apparentcause before he could press it. "W-who's there! Show yourself!"

No one did however. Issen felt pieces of his body slowly cutting themselves off from the main system, exiling his control over himself… Something invisible grabbed him, pulling the silver robot up off the ground and stowing him on what felt like a shoulder before running at a wall. Something detonated, blowing it open and revealing Tokyo City to Issen's eyes for the first time. It was beautiful … and then he knew no more.

* * *

… Gomen. This took forever to get out. And I made it a cliff-hanger too! Well, the time I took off was well spent however. I have a rough feel of where I want to go now. Before, I was just winging it, but I think I know where Issen is headed now. Please review!


	13. Gemini of a Shadow

Dear. Lord. Senior year in high school, and I haven't even had enough time to finish a single chapter on any of my stories. Guess this is what being an adult is… Well, I can only hope that this gets finished before the end of my senior year – the chapter I mean, since there's no way I'd be able to finish the story with a decent ending. Well, here goes. The chocolate's on me this time!

* * *

Cold. He could feel it around him, but something told him that it wherever he was did not exist in reality. Slowly pushing himself up from the ground, Issen looked over himself with uncertain eyes. Large parts of his body were missing, and in place of the metal was a blue wire-frame that pulsated in an even rhythm. While this in itself was unnerving, his remaining armor had changed shape as well. Smooth, more human like arms and legs defined his extremities, and his torso was slimmer as well… He had been changed.

'…Strange. I don't remember anything like…'

The scenery was nothing more than a darkness that surrounded him. Reaching out, he tried to feel for any edges, but there was nothing. Then, as if he had walked off a ledge, he felt like he was falling. Wind rushed around him, slowing his decent as something began to fade into view. Thru the motion blurs, he was able to see a great mass of trees on what appeared to be a hillside floating in the darkness. For a moment, it seemed as if Issen would miss the island and keep falling, but the updraft that had been slowing him was also pushing him in the direction of the hillside, gently moving him to the seemingly safe haven. After a few more seconds of guided freefall, Issen's now slimmer boots impacted the soft ground, crushing the soft grass of a meadow beneath him.

'Where is this?' Issen idly wondered for a second, before cold logic took hold. '…I was in Tokyo until approximately fifty seconds ago. Location is currently unknown. It'd be best for me to scout around the area and look for any distinguishable landmarks…'

A noise startled him however, and the silver clad robot whirled to face whatever had caused it. There had been no activity on his sonar, and yet… a small boy with red hair and red irises was running toward him, tears streaming down his cheeks. As clueless as he was about humans and how they acted, he knew that crying and running had something to do with sadness, and the fact that the child had just fallen down and started bawling further only encouraged that notion. Figuring he might get a little information out of the child if he could calm him down, Issen slowly walked over to where they child had fallen. At the slight sound of the heavy boots, the youth sat up and looked around, the dark presence in the forest stopping only a few feet away from him. Staring wide-eyed at the seemingly broken warrior, the child let his mouth open slightly.

"…Hello…" Waving slightly, Issen tried his best to be friendly. Though he didn't know it, he was failing terribly since his smile looked like a sadistic grin. "What is your name?"

"S-sentou," the boy struggled to speak through his runny nose, "and who are you?"

Kneeling where he was, the robot nodded softly. "I am called Issen. If you don't mind telling me, why are you crying? Shouldn't you be with your parental units -- uh, Mother and Father?"

"M-m-mommy…" the child stuttered and rubbed away some of his tears, "they took her! Into the silver caves! Daddy went down there to fight Them, but he didn't come back… Y-you look like my daddy… Can you fight Them?"

'His parents are gone? I don't think that's normal for humans… Perhaps whoever the boy is referring to as "Them" took the mother away for a reason, and the father went to negotiate the release – albeit violently – of his wife … Does this really require my involvement?' Issen stood, walking toward the child. "How long ago did your father go into the cave?"

"Yesterday…"

'A whole day without his parents? Definitely not normal. I'd better investigate this.' He held out his hand, taking the child's pint-sized fingers and pulling him to his feet. "I'll help. Let's go to this 'Silver Cave' your Father went into. Can you guide me there?"

Sentou nodded, pulling on Issen's hand and rising up from the ground. The boy kept a solid grip on the tall robot's hand, and without further conversation he led him through the woods and to the opening of the cave. True to its name, the cave was completely silver in color, and looked more like a river of hardened metal instead of a natural formation of rock. With nothing on his sonar, Issen cycled thru the various vision modes available to him and found that, as far as the entrance was concerned, there was nothing waiting for them. Just to be on the safe side, Issen began charging his busters…

"This is it…" The still trebling boy pointed into the cave with his free hand, and Issen could feel his pulse racing in the other. For reasons unknown to the robot, the boy was deathly afraid of this place…

"I see. What can I expect out of the people who took your mother?"

"They… They're covered in silver, like you and this cave. Daddy was too, but he was nice… They also have swords like you do, but they're curved…" Kneeling, Sentou quietly traced a sickle shaped form in the ground, one with spikes protruding from the normally dull side. Vaguely, the taller of the two remember seeing something like it in the test areas in Sendai…

"Hm. I'll deal with them if we come across them. Just stay by my side."

The boy nodded, still grasping Issen's hand for dear life. Activating the light in his helmet, the silver and black warrior led the child into the cave, one blade at the ready and busters fully charged. For a time, there was nothing except for the smooth tunnel surrounding them. Eventually however, the seemingly molten silver transformed into computers, routers, switches and a dozen other technological devices. All in all, it reminded Issen of the activation chamber he had awoken in…

"This place is… strange. Have you been here before Sentou?"

The boy shook his head, innocent eyes wide in the dark chambers. "Father said to stay away when it first appeared. Then they came out, and they took mommy…"

Issen raised one of his eyebrows. "This cave appeared?"

"Indeed it did, brother." The electrical whirr of a buster, a sonar ping, then blurred motion as Issen grabbed Sentou and dodged several bolts of energy. Amazingly, the motion didn't damage Sentou in the least… "Well done. You avoided our first attack, Issen."

Slipping the child behind him, Issen turned to face his opponent with a determined glare. His face melted into surprise when two of himself were waiting for him, their eyes fastened on Sentou. "…Who are you?"

"We are Kousen, meaning War. To our American and English masters, we are Silver. Call us by either name, but we will still have the child no matter what you do…"

Without waiting, Issen shunted his buster energy into his boost system, dashing at the twins with blades outstretched. Just as quickly, the copies dashed forward and revealed their own sickle shaped blades to block Issen's, pushing back with double the strength. Kousen and Silver's blades tore thru the silver warrior's own as his image faded, a phantom disappearing only to be replaced with a Flash bang Grenade. Just as one of the twins began to kick the distraction away, Issen's blade appeared from the darkness and took an arm. Its owner hardly noticed as the appendage dropped to the ground with a clang. Both machines turned, each jamming a blade through Issen's shoulder blades, the squeal of steel being cut filling the air with a horrible shriek.

**WARNING! BUSTER SYSTEM DISABLED. ELEMENT SYSTEM DAMAGED. CORE SYSTEMS DAMAGED. CURRENT ENERGY LEVEL IS FORTY-ONE PERCENT. EXTRACTION FROM COMBAT AREA RECOMMENDED.**

Issen screamed out loud as a strange sensation flooded his system. It wasn't something that he had ever felt before, no matter how hard he had been hit by his enemies. It was pain, something only humans experienced. Impossible for a being such as him to feel, yet the sensation coursed through Issen none the less.

"Oh…?" The twins wore a mirrored face of surprise at the strangled howl that Issen had unleashed, confusion weighing heavy on their brows. "…Could this be the Final System data?"

"…Final …S-system…!" Issen grit his teeth and willed the morbid feeling away, his own blades suddenly swinging back to their holding position. He seemed to go limp for a second, but raised his hands with a fury that had never been seen in his normally calm face. In the same rising motion, his blades snapped up and through the twin's bodies with an earth shattering yell that almost matched the sound of their bodies being torn apart. At that instant, the entities known as Kousen shuddered before dissolving into a million pieces, their blades still stuck in Issen's shoulders like curved metal wings. "…haa…"

Slowly, the silver machine fell to the floor, his metal fingers digging into the steel plates below as he tried to cope with the pain that coursed through him. Sentou, who was still been waiting where Issen had left him, began crying vehemently as he ran toward Issen with arms outstretched.

"Mister Issen! Are you okay! Please, be okay!"

With a non-committal grunt, Issen pushed himself off the ground and looked into the boy's eyes. "If I can acquire repairs, all should be well. In the mean time, we should move forward… Are there any others?"

"I-I only saw those two…"

"Good. Then we probably won't have to worry about much…" Getting to his feet, Issen looked at his wounds and winced. The blades had gone all the way through his body, and it was a wonder his neck hydraulics were working. Pointing himself towards the remainder of the cave, Issen took Sentou's hand to reassure him before leading the boy deeper into the labyrinth…

'MegaMan, it shouldn't be much farther now! The warehouse that Issen's signal is coming from is just around the corner, and it looks like the other machines in the area have gone silent!'

"Thanks Roll! That should make things a lot easier!"

The blue bomber was running at full tilt as he rounded the corner, passing several deactivated Sniper Joes as his boots scraped against the cement below. Without slowing down, MegaMan charged his buster and fired a fully powered blast at the warehouse's gate. It melted away under the hero's assault, a hole twice his size replacing the once whole metal. He leapt through it with little regard for his own safety, but what he saw thoroughly surprised him…

"Roll, I found Issen and the units that captured him, but…"

'What's wrong MegaMan?'

"Have Auto meet me at the teleporter. Issen needs some heavy repairs."

Lying beside Issen's disabled form were the twin bodies of Kousen, a single blade from each of their arms stabbing through his shoulders and into the ground beneath. Just from their lifeless positions, MegaMan could tell that they had been neutralized. The cables connected to Issen's head were a dead giveaway as to the how and why.

The cave came to an abrupt end, leading out to a small ledge where a woman was waiting. Sentou cried out for joy at the sight of her, running as fast as his little legs would carry him into her embrace. Issen stopped and observed their reunion from a distance, watching the blue haired woman and her child hug happily before the child finally pointed him out while tugging at her kimono.

"Issen… I see you finally woke up." The young woman smiled sweetly at him as she stood. "I'm happy that we can finally talk face to face now."

"…I haven't met you before. How is it that--"

"You have used me every day of your active life. I am you're energy source Issen, though I haven't reached my full potential just yet." She smiled and stepped closer to him, placing a soft hand on his face. "You haven't either as a result, but we should save that conversation for another time. Roll and Auto have finished repairing you, though they've made some changes to your framework. It's time to come alive."

She stepped forward embracing him with gentle arms. A blinding light overcame him…

"For now, just know you aren't alone… You never have been."

* * *

His eyes opened to a set of high intensity lights that overwhelmed him for a good minute. Eventually, his eyes adjusted to their intensity, and he sat up.

"…Issen? How do you feel."

"…I'm not alone…" Issen whispered softly. He snapped to attention suddenly, turning to Roll's pensive gaze with a quizzical look. "I am feeling fine, though it appears you have made some changes to my body."

The blades that the Kousen twins had stabbed him with had been merged into his body, the blades sticking out of his back like sliver wings.

"Yeah, it was actually better to leave them in. Taking them out would have caused more damage," she explained, "and Auto managed to put an energy tank in each of the blades while we merged them into your system. Now you won't have to worry about taking so much damage anymore!"

"Good to hear." Issen nodded as he slid his legs off the table. He hopped off as the blades on his back accidentally sliced through the steel operating table, unknowingly segmenting the furniture into three pieces. As they clattered to the ground, Issen turned and saw what he had unknowingly done. "…Though it appears it will take some getting used to."

Roll shook her head sadly. "You're telling me…! Just don't turn around whenever I'm close to you, okay?"

Blinking his blood hued eyes, Issen smiled. "Understood."

"Alrighty! Now come on, Dr. Light wants to see you!"

The two walked at a brisk pace through Dr. Light's lab, passing dozen of projects that were far beyond Issen's current comprehension. When they arrived in the area where the good doctor made repairs to his machinations, Issen found himself in the midst of a rescue mission.

"So, you think I might be able to save ProtoMan?"

Dr. Light nodded sagely as he pointed toward a schematic of the robot in question. "ProtoMan's system is based upon a crude form of fusion, as I stated earlier. Your own system is based upon continually drawing power from other sources and changing it to be compatible with your own, so there will be no danger to you."

Issen studied the digital representation of ProtoMan's body, looking at every detail he could find before turning back to Dr. Light. "I see. At the same time I'm drawing energy from his systems, you will be pumping in a new form of energy that won't degrade his systems."

"Yes, that's the general idea. We have already prepared for the operation, so if you would please…"

The silver clad robot shook his head. "There's no need to ask Doctor. ProtoMan has been a valuable ally to me, and I need to repay the favor." Walking toward ProtoMan's unmoving form, Issen placed a hand on the red and gray machine's chest. "Whenever you're ready."

MegaMan, Roll, Rush and Auto watched from a distance as Dr. Light and Issen went to work, siphoning out the bad blood as it were and replacing it with pure fusion. It was a painstakingly slow process, lasting long into the night as doctor and warrior matched the rates of give and take. ProtoMan would live.

* * *

Reviews would be great, though I know you all have probably gone on with your lives. Heck, it's almost been a year since I updated this, or any of my other fictions. Well, I'm still not done with this, and I refuse to stop. This, along with all of my other stories, shall continue.


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